French students revive protests after school break

Student protests resumed across France on Monday after a two-week school break, although attempts to block educational institutions were significantly smaller than those witnessed in previous weeks.

Groups of students tried to blockade several high schools in Paris, Marseille and Rennes as pupils returned to classrooms. The demonstrations remained limited to a handful of schools, according to French media reports.

Before the break, hundreds of France’s more than 3,000 high schools had been affected by blockades. The protests first emerged in the Paris suburbs in September before spreading to other parts of the country.

Initially focused on education, the demonstrations have expanded to include wider concerns over the rising cost of living. Trade union members and activists have also joined the movement, while some earlier protests escalated into violence.

Last month, demonstrations in several French cities turned into clashes with police and riots. Shops were looted during the unrest, creating a challenge for President Emmanuel Macron’s minority government.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray described the latest school blockades as limited in scale. Speaking to France Inter radio on Monday, he said only a small number of schools had been affected by attempted blockades.

He said students were free to protest but warned that preventing access to schools was illegal. Police officers were deployed near some educational institutions, although television footage showed that they were not wearing full anti-riot equipment.

The demonstrators are calling for improvements to ageing school buildings, more teachers and additional university places. They are also demanding changes to the university admissions system, which they consider socially unfair.

In response to the concerns, Geffray last week proposed limiting class sizes to 28 students and allocating €4 billion, or around $4.47 billion, for school renovations.

His proposals also include creating 15,000 additional higher education places and introducing a new university admissions system by 2028.

However, student representatives have rejected the measures as insufficient and warned that demonstrations would continue.

The unrest in France forms part of a wider wave of youth-led protests across Europe. Similar demonstrations have taken place in countries including Germany, Italy, Belgium and Albania.