France's government has promised 3,000 replacement teachers for struggling secondary schools and pledged to give pupils a greater say in education policy in a bid to quell nearly three weeks of student protests. But blockades in some schools resumed on Friday morning and student bodies have called for a further day of action next week.
Issued on: 09/10/2026 - RFI
A student in Paris brandishes the French flag as protests continue over poorly resourced schools and staff shortages, 8 October 2026. © AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard
Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on Friday that he was launching a reform of student representation, including adding more pupil representatives to the panel that advises his ministry and dedicating funding to projects backed by student bodies.
Additionally, one-third of the seats reserved for elected pupil representatives on the advisory body, the National Education Council or CSE, will go to students in vocational education. Regional authorities will also hear from academic councils representing secondary school pupils.
Geffray said in a televised interview on Thursday evening that 3,000 replacement teachers would be deployed to the schools "facing the most serious problems in the coming hours".
No teaching posts were due to be cut in secondary schools in 2027, he said.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has also promised changes to the government's budget proposals to address some of the students' demands.
The announcements follow nearly three weeks of sometimes violent protests over teaching conditions, staffing and access to higher education.
More than 6,800 people have been detained since the start of the demonstrations, of whom 86 percent are minors, the justice ministry said Friday.
The United Nations human rights agency said Friday that it was watching the events "with concern" and urging people on all sides to remain peaceful.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on Friday that he was launching a reform of student representation, including adding more pupil representatives to the panel that advises his ministry and dedicating funding to projects backed by student bodies.
Additionally, one-third of the seats reserved for elected pupil representatives on the advisory body, the National Education Council or CSE, will go to students in vocational education. Regional authorities will also hear from academic councils representing secondary school pupils.
Geffray said in a televised interview on Thursday evening that 3,000 replacement teachers would be deployed to the schools "facing the most serious problems in the coming hours".
No teaching posts were due to be cut in secondary schools in 2027, he said.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has also promised changes to the government's budget proposals to address some of the students' demands.
The announcements follow nearly three weeks of sometimes violent protests over teaching conditions, staffing and access to higher education.
More than 6,800 people have been detained since the start of the demonstrations, of whom 86 percent are minors, the justice ministry said Friday.
The United Nations human rights agency said Friday that it was watching the events "with concern" and urging people on all sides to remain peaceful.
'Bare minimum'
The government's promises have done little to calm nearly three weeks of student unrest.
Blockades resumed early on Friday at sites including Paris's École du Louvre and Paris-Panthéon-Assas University.
The Education Ministry said 141 high schools remained closed on Friday morning, out of a total of 3,700.
Marius Mesnil, co-secretary general of one of the main secondary school students' unions, USL, described the announcement of additional teachers as the "bare minimum", telling FranceInfo public radio that the government had offered only small concessions.
USL is calling for Parcoursup, the platform used to manage applications to higher education, to be scrapped. Unions are not satisfied by Geffray's promise to make the platform more transparent.
“The minister made announcements that were satisfactory on just one issue – student representation in school governance," Louis Letoublon of the Lycéens! student group told reporters after almost two hours of talks with Geffray on Thursday. "On everything else, they were absolutely not.”
Letoublon called for the movement to be stepped up to maintain pressure on the government.
Unions have called for another national day of strikes and demonstrations on 13 October.
Another leading student union, UE, has said protests will continue until the government puts €10 billion on the table.
Students clash with riot police during a protest against under-resourced schools in Paris, 8 October 2026. @ AP Photo/Teresa Suarez
Protests and arrests
Students held another round of protests on Thursday, drawing 71,500 people across France, including 24,500 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry. The left-wing CGT trade union put the national figure at more than 130,000.
The ministry said about 96 percent of schools remained open, with 157 of France's 3,700 secondary schools closed by midday.
Police arrested 504 people during Thursday's protests, while nearly 50 police officers and gendarmes were injured, the ministry said. It also reported an increase in urban violence.
To date, 6,877 people have been arrested since the start of the protests last month, according to the latest figures from the Justice Ministry, 86 percent of them aged under 18.
Student representatives are due to meet ministers again on Monday to discuss transparency in university admissions and pressure on higher education places.
Protests began on 17 September when high-school students at the Saint-Exupéry lycée in Créteil, south-east of Paris, joined striking teachers to demand more staff and resources.
They then spread rapidly across the Île-de-France region and, by late September, nationwide.
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