French Student Protests Resume After Break as Blockades Hit Dozens of Schools

Student protests in France resumed on Monday following a two-week school break, though at a considerably reduced scale compared with earlier weeks, according to French media reports. Young people attempted to blockade a small number of high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes, with the Education Ministry stating that around 41 high schools—roughly 1% of the national total—were affected by 8:30 GMT.

The demonstrations, which began in the Paris suburbs in September, had spread across the country before the break, with hundreds of the country's more than 3,000 high schools blockaded at their peak. The movement has since widened beyond education to encompass cost-of-living concerns, drawing in trade unionists and activists, and at times turning violent. Last month, protests escalated into clashes with police and riots in several cities, including incidents of shoplifting, posing a challenge to President Emmanuel Macron's minority government.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray downplayed the scale of Monday's action in an interview with radio station France Inter, describing the blockades as "very marginal" and involving only a handful of individual schools. He noted that while protests are permitted, preventing access to schools is illegal. Television footage showed police officers present at some sites, though not in full anti-riot gear.

Students are demanding the renovation of aging school buildings, more teachers, additional university places and an end to a university admissions system they consider socially unfair. Last week, Geffray proposed capping class sizes at 28, allocating €4 billion (about $4.47 billion) to renovate schools, creating 15,000 new places in higher education, and introducing a new admissions system by 2028.

High school student representatives said the proposals fall short of their demands and vowed to continue protesting. The French movement is part of a broader wave of so-called "Gen Z" protests that have emerged across European countries, including Germany, Italy, Belgium and Albania, driven by grievances such as living costs, the poor condition of schools and perceived corruption.

With the latest blockades limited in scope, the immediate pressure on the government appears reduced, but the underlying demands around school funding and university access remain unresolved. How the government balances reform pledges against student expectations in the coming weeks will shape whether the movement subsides or regains momentum.