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Protests over deteriorating school buildings, overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages have spread across cities in France. Outside Lycée Le Corbusier in Aubervilliers, north of Paris, demonstrators said educational conditions were worse in low-income neighborhoods.
Maisa, 17, who hopes to become an English teacher, said she took a school exam last year without a French teacher. Teachers play a major role in students’ education, she said, adding that it is difficult to study under the current conditions.
Protests and police intervention
Protests and blockades took place at more than 1,200 high schools in France this week. In some cases, police used tear gas and rubber bullets. Reports say more than 5,000 people were detained, while some protesters sustained eye injuries, broken teeth and blows to the head.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the situation as an “unacceptable climate of violence” and called for public order. Outside her school, 15-year-old Amelia held a sign reading “Our address should not determine our future.” She said she had joined the demonstration to demand the same rights as students in other parts of the country.
Staff shortages in schools
Student protests first began in suburbs around Paris with high levels of poverty, then spread to the capital and cities including Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours and Lille. At Lycée Le Corbusier, classes in mathematics, humanities, English and physical education have been canceled since the start of the school year because of teacher shortages, said Karima Kara Ali, an elected parents’ representative.
The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) said two-thirds of high schools in the Seine-Saint-Denis department took part in protests on Thursday. In four cities, young people, teachers and parents complained about unsanitary conditions in schools and staff shortages, including a lack of nurses and social workers.
Education budget and political debate
The demonstrations across France come at a politically sensitive time for the government. On Oct. 1, it announced a series of spending cuts as part of the 2027 budget, drawing widespread criticism. Excluding teachers’ pensions, the education budget is set to rise by 1.7% to 65.53 billion euros, below the rate of inflation.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said education remained a priority. He attributed the below-inflation budget increase to a declining population. Ulysse Rabate, a political scientist at Paris 8 University, said the protests showed the growing influence of marginalized urban neighborhoods on French politics.
France’s public education system is administered nationally, while local authorities also help fund and maintain school buildings. Teacher recruitment and working conditions have been recurring issues in debates over the quality and equality of education, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
