Student protests in France entered a new phase on Tuesday 6 October, with a national day of protest described as the largest since the movement began in mid-September. Thousands of students, teachers and parents took part in demonstrations in several cities, as hundreds of educational institutions were closed or disrupted and a heavy security presence was deployed in anticipation of possible clashes.
Diverging participation figures and class suspensions
Organisers said 260,000 people took to the streets in Paris in support of the student protests. By contrast, the latest figures announced by French authorities showed about 86,000 people taking part in morning demonstrations in several areas, while the capital was preparing for a large afternoon gathering.
The French Education Ministry announced that 891 educational institutions had fully or partially suspended classes on Tuesday. Other sources said the movement had led to the closure or disruption of an even larger number of schools across the country since it began, as mobilisation continued and the range of participants expanded.
University students join the demonstrations
The 6 October demonstrations were marked by the more visible participation of university students in protests initially led by secondary-school pupils. In Clermont-Ferrand, a university site was closed, while students, lecturers and parents joined marches in solidarity with secondary-school pupils. In the capital, Paris-Dauphine University was closed and classes were suspended throughout the day.
The French student union said on Tuesday morning that more than 57 university sites were closed or blockaded, a figure issued by the movement’s organising body rather than an independent government tally. Students and other protesters are demanding action on teacher and resource shortages, an end to overcrowded classrooms, improved buildings and equipment, and a review of the length of the school day.
Students have also voiced concern about their academic and professional futures and criticised the Parcoursup university admissions system, which they consider complex and insufficiently transparent. The French government says it has begun taking steps to address some of these issues.
Student demands and the government’s education plan
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu set out five areas for action, including speeding up the replacement of absent teachers, improving school buildings and adapting them to cope with heatwaves, and reviewing the organisation of the school day. The government’s priorities also include increasing the transparency of the Parcoursup system and strengthening students’ participation in decisions affecting their school lives.
These steps are intended to respond to a series of education-related grievances that have developed over recent weeks into a sustained protest movement across several areas. On Tuesday, the Education Ministry opened a national consultation with students through the Agora platform, which will continue until 23 October.
The consultation aims to hear students’ complaints and proposals directly, while the ministry said the results would be compiled and presented at the end of the month. The government pledged to announce its first practical decisions, along with their funding and timetable, before the end of October.
National consultation and promises of practical decisions before the end of October
However, opening a dialogue has not brought the protests to an end, as student and trade union organisations consider the measures announced so far inadequate in relation to the scale of the problems that prompted students to take to the streets. The 6 October mobilisation became a test of the government’s ability to contain the movement before it expands further. At the same time, tensions rose after serious injuries were reported in clashes between some protesters and security forces in recent days.
In the northern French city of Lens, a 15-year-old boy suffered severe hand injuries after a police grenade used to disperse protesters exploded, according to authorities and French media sources. The circumstances of the incident remain under investigation to determine what led to his injury. The past few weeks have also seen thousands of arrests, most involving minors, as well as injuries to large numbers of police officers and protesters.
Authorities say security force interventions are aimed at preventing violence and vandalism, while human rights groups and specialists in student affairs have criticised the use of force when dealing with underage protesters. In Paris, large numbers of security personnel were deployed ahead of the main march.
The cities of Marseille, Lyon, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Rennes and Nîmes also saw protests and demonstrations of varying scale. Some marches passed peacefully, while clashes and the use of tear gas were reported in other areas. The demonstrations come at a sensitive political stage in France, months before the presidential election scheduled for 2027.
The government is seeking to respond to education demands while maintaining security and preventing vandalism, as the protests have begun to evolve from local, student-led demonstrations into a broader movement involving school and university students, teachers, trade unions and parents.
