Why Hundreds of Schools Are Closed Across France Right Now

Widespread unrest across French high schools has led to hundreds of closures, extensive arrests, and injuries among students, faculty, and law enforcement as dissatisfaction over conditions in the country’s secondary education system intensifies.

Nearly 3,000 individuals have been detained since rallies started nearly two weeks ago, with approximately 2,000 taken into custody in a single day. Official figures indicate that 170 students, 65 educators and staff members, and nearly 400 police officers have sustained injuries during clashes. By the end of the week, police reported approximately 900 demonstrations nationwide, leaving more than 500 schools shuttered amid school blockades, arson incidents, and riot police confrontations.

In an effort to de-escalate tensions, Education Minister Édouard Geffray held meetings with student delegates, teachers’ unions, and parent groups. While announcing an online initiative to collect student suggestions for a forthcoming national assessment, Geffray stressed that youth concerns require tangible solutions. However, student groups resolved to continue the movement, criticizing the administration for failing to provide immediate, actionable interventions.

Key Drivers Behind the Demonstrations

The unrest stems from mounting frustration over institutional shortfalls, including:

• Staffing Shortages: Data reveals that nearly 10% of scheduled instructional hours went unfilled during the previous academic term, largely due to difficulties in finding substitute instructors. Students also point to an absence of campus healthcare workers and supervisory staff.
• Overcrowded and Dilapidated Facilities: Demonstrators have criticized poorly maintained school buildings, lacking supplies, broken plumbing, and class sizes exceeding 30 pupils per room without adequate seating.
• Inadequate Climate Infrastructure: Following severe, record-setting summer heatwaves in Europe, students have voiced outrage over unventilated classrooms reaching high temperatures, demanding better climate adaptation measures in public buildings.
• Admission Pressures: High schoolers have renewed complaints against Parcoursup, the central digital admissions platform for French universities, citing high stress and lack of transparency.

Spread of the Movement

The agitation began in late September at Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil outside Paris before quickly spreading throughout the Île-de-France region. Within days, rallies emerged across the country, hitting western hubs such as Rennes and Nantes, southern cities including Marseille and Toulouse, and northern and eastern locations like Lille and Strasbourg.

The friction reached a peak mid-week when confrontations led to fires at educational facilities, vehicle damage, and the deployment of tear gas by riot police. Student and high school labor organizations have urged demonstrators to sustain blockades and campus occupations into the coming week.

Government Response

French officials have condemned property damage and violent escalations:

• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened emergency cabinet meetings and suspended official travel to coordinate the administration’s response.
• President Emmanuel Macron noted during an official visit abroad that legitimate grievances cannot justify violent actions.
• Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin warned that parents could be held financially liable for destruction of public property caused by minors.
• Education officials have called on parents to dissuade their children from participating in high-risk street demonstrations.