High school pupils across France resumed blockades on Monday, November 2, returning from a two-week holiday to renew demands for better school conditions. The action came as the government prepared for further demonstrations over education, rising living costs and low pay, while education officials warned that prolonged disruption threatened pupils’ coursework and final examinations.
Students’ unions continued the protests despite President Emmanuel Macron’s appeal to end the lycée blockades. Running since September, the movement has become one of the largest protests and social crises of his presidency. Early on Monday, pupils used wheelie bins to obstruct school entrances in Paris and its suburbs, Lille, Toulouse and Marseille, calling for more replacement teachers and building repairs. At some schools, police tried to remove the bins and made arrests.
Further action was planned for the rest of the week. University students’ unions intended to barricade faculties on Tuesday, while trade unions called a large-scale strike for Thursday. Rail workers, teachers and private-sector employees planned to demonstrate in cities across France, backing pupils’ demands and protesting against the cost of living and low salaries.
Nathanaël Combary, of the school students’ union Renouveau Lycéen and a member of Macron’s Renaissance party, urged pupils to maintain pressure for increased funding, improved access to higher education and repairs to deteriorating schools. He said government proposals announced the previous week, including limits on some class sizes and a review of the university applications platform, fell short. Speaking to BFMTV, he argued that protests were pupils’ only means of securing a government response.
Education minister Édouard Geffray warned that many pupils approaching their final examinations risked being unable to finish coursework or cover the required curriculum. He said hundreds of thousands preparing for the baccalauréat had gone without classes for four or five weeks when holidays were included. Describing the blockades as illegal, he said getting children back into classrooms was his priority.
An arrest near a school barricade in Montpellier drew criticism from Socialist senator Hussein Bourgi, who accused the government of misconduct and provocation. Video showed a 53-year-old school nurse speaking to police before officers forced her face-down onto the ground, handcuffed her and took her into custody. The local prefect, responsible for police operations, defended the arrest, saying she had insulted officers and resisted police.
The extent of Monday’s disruption was disputed. The education ministry reported blockades at 41 high schools, approximately 1% of the national total, while students’ unions said 150 schools were affected. Nicolas Bonnet, from the headteachers’ union SNPDEN-UNSA, warned that coursework, final-year examinations and university applications were in jeopardy.
Bonnet said he understood pupils’ view that the government had not done enough to address problems in schools, but called for greater dialogue and a return to teaching and supporting pupils. Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said he would hold another meeting with school students’ unions the following week.
