France Shuts Hundreds of Schools Amid Student Protests

Mon Oct 05 2026 06:22:14 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Up to 500 French schools are closed as riot police clash with students demanding better conditions.

French authorities announced that between 400 and 500 high‑schools will be partially or totally closed for Monday after weeks of student protests and clashes with the police. The education minister cited failed security conditions and the burning or ransacking of 24 schools. Thousands of students have taken to the streets from Paris to Montpellier and Marseille, calling for more teachers, less overcrowding and improved facilities. While the government vows to resume classes progressively, it also promises reforms and a stricter approach to vandalism.

France Shuts Hundreds of Schools Amid Student Protests

Up to 500 schools across France will be partially or totally closed on Monday after clashes between riot police and student protesters in recent days, the French education minister said.

The lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some "400 to 500" high schools because security conditions have not been fulfilled, Édouard Geffray said. He added that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked since the protests began.

Thousands of students have been demonstrating over education standards; the protests, which started last week, have spread from Paris to cities such as Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.

High‑school pupils and other protestors complain of a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and run‑down buildings.

On Friday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France's 3,700 schools had been affected in one way or another by violent protests.

The education minister warned that the number of schools potentially affected on Monday could match Friday's figure but pledged a "partial, progressive return to lessons".

Geffray claimed far‑left activists have infiltrated the student movement and introduced extreme violence, putting staff and students at risk. He noted that 78 education staff members had been wounded, a figure he described as "unprecedented".

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported 1,747 arrests on Friday, while AFP estimates over 5,000 people—about 85% minors—have been arrested since the movement began.

Organisers demand protests continue into Tuesday, accusing the government of lacking concrete measures. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said his administration is taking steps to "address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff", including ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days, and enhancing transparency of the university admissions platform.

Lecornu added the government is accelerating a review of its "vandal‑pays" bill to hold those responsible for damage accountable.

French riot police stand in position amid clashes during a protest by high school students outside the Lycee Deodat-de-Severac high school

French riot police stand in position amid clashes during a protest by high school students outside the Lycee Deodat‑de‑Severac high school as part of nationwide protests by high school students to demand the hiring of substitute teachers, increased resources and better learning conditions, in Toulouse as more than 400 schools remain closed following days of student protests that have escalated into violence in some places, France, October 2, 2026. (Reuters)