French students plan new protests after rejecting government measures
27.10.2026
French school pupils and university students plan to resume protests and blockades early next week after the autumn holidays, union representatives said, dismissing government measures to address their demands as insufficient.
The announcement followed talks between education unions and Education Minister Édouard Geffray on Tuesday, as well as a meeting between student representatives and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu the previous day.
"The measures announced are insufficient," Manon Moret, secretary-general of the UNEF student union, told broadcaster BFMTV.
"We have young people who are prepared to put an entire year of academic success at risk because the situation in public schools and higher education is so catastrophic that it is time for mass mobilization," she said.
Nathanaël Combary, head of the Renouveau Lycéen pupil organization, also called for further demonstrations.
"We must continue our mobilization if we want to keep being heard," he told BFMTV.
"We are waiting for further measures; in particular, I am thinking of the creation of additional places in higher education," he added.
The government announced a package of measures on Monday in response to weeks of protests and blockades at secondary schools, including additional funding, more teaching positions and plans to abolish the controversial Parcoursup university admissions system.
Billions in funding announced for schools and universities
To renovate secondary schools, the state plans to make €4 billion ($4.5 billion) in low-interest loans available to local authorities by 2030. Universities are also set to receive an additional €1 billion for renovation projects by 2029.
Geffray announced that hundreds of teaching positions would be created and previously planned job cuts would be reversed.
School pupils have been protesting against dilapidated buildings, teacher shortages and inadequate resources, with university students joining the demonstrations.
Massive police presence again this weekend
Further nationwide demonstrations are planned for this weekend, with trade unions also calling for a general strike on November 5.
School pupils and university students are expected to resume protests on Monday that include demonstrations and blockades outside educational institutions.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told broadcaster RTL on Tuesday that police would again be deployed in large numbers for nationwide protests planned for the weekend to prevent a repeat of the unrest seen on the sidelines of previous demonstrations.
Nuñez announced a security operation similar to that launched last weekend, when some 70,000 officers, backed by armoured vehicles and water cannon, were deployed to prevent rioting and looting.
"We will have a deployment of a similar scale," he told RTL.
"We will keep going for as long as necessary," Nuñez added when asked whether police could sustain such a large mobilization ahead of further nationwide demonstrations and a call for a general strike on Thursday, November 5.
Last Saturday, police, including specialist and elite units, were out in force to prevent riots of the kind seen on the sidelines of demonstrations the previous week. Groups prepared to engage in violence had once again been present, Nuñez said.
Yellow Vests call for more protests
The Yellow Vest movement has called for nationwide protests on Saturday, including rallies and sit-ins outside the National Assembly and town halls across France.
President Emmanuel Macron has described the planned demonstrations as "high-risk" and urged protesters to hold marches outside city centres.
The movement has also called for protests on Friday, including outside the National Assembly, featuring the banging of pots and pans, known in France as a "casserolade."
Further nationwide demonstrations are planned for Thursday, November 5, when trade unions have called for a general strike.
The Yellow Vests staged months of protests against the high cost of living and social inequality from November 2018 into early 2019, triggering widespread unrest.
The movement takes its name from the yellow high-visibility vests worn by many of its demonstrators.
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