PHOTO: Student protests in Paris on 6 October 2026, FreCha on Wikimedia Commons
In 2024, I was lucky to travel to France as part of a university exchange. During our orientation as new international students, we had a seminar on French culture led by a local student. She shared with us some practical tips on navigating life in Paris: how to apply for a metro card, the best night life spots, and advice on what to bring to a protest.
Candidly, she explained that you should always carry a bottle of water with you, to flush any tear gas out of your eyes, and to write your name and the phone number of an emergency contact on your arm, just in case something happens.
One American student asked, “If we participate in protests, will our student visa be compromised?”
The orientation leader laughed, “Of course not, this is France! No one can take that right away from you.”
The following week, protests against the appointment of Michel Barnier as prime minister were taking place. Some of my new classmates went to have a look. They reported back that, overall, the vibe was cheerful. The crowd was in a positive mood, and the homemade placards they photographed were both creative and humorous.
It was a stark contrast to protests in recent weeks, which have been marked by the destruction of public property, ransacking of local businesses, and accusations of police brutality that have drawn deep concerns over the security of the right to protest. What began as peaceful demonstrations by local high school students with shared (although varied) demands to reform the education system has morphed into something far more complicated and difficult to appease: open anger against a cost-of-living crisis and a government perceived as complicit.
With further protests planned for Saturday, tensions seem unlikely to quiet down any time soon.
What are the protestors’ demands?
On 21 September 2026, protests began at a high school in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, where students and teachers complained of vacant teaching positions and under-resourcing. Since then, the list of grievances has grown as demonstrations have spread and intensified across France.
In early October, hundreds of schools closed nationwide as student protests erupted over understaffing, poor infrastructure and unequal access to education.
Government statistics support students’ complaints. According to the country’s National Ministry of Education, nearly 10 per cent of teaching hours were not taught in public schools during the 2024-2025 school year, with 7.5 per cent of untaught hours being attributed to failures to find replacement teachers and 2.3 per cent due to the total closure of the school.
Students also complained to the media about overcrowding, not enough chairs and unbearable heat in classrooms amid some of the worst heatwaves on record.
Resentment has also emerged against Parcoursup, introduced in 2018, which provides a digital platform for high schoolers to apply for their first year of university, preparatory classes and other tertiary courses. The system has been accused of preferencing grades while overlooking socioeconomic disadvantages and inequality between regions and schools in facilitating the selection process.
On October 6, France saw its largest day of student protests to date. According to France’s Interior Ministry, 250,000 people turned out, although organisers claimed the number was as high as 450,000.
Student protestors have since been joined by union workers, university students, lawyers, local mayors and parents concerned for their children’s safety. Greta Thunberg, 23-year-old Swedish activist known for advocating for young people on climate action, also made an appearance at Paul Éluard high school.
PHOTO: Student protests on 6 October 2026, Paris by FreCha on Wikimedia Commons. The placard reads ‘and our mental health depends on Parcoursup?’
The response
As early as October 2, images emerged of riot police being deployed in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, using tear gas, batons and rubber bullets. Although protests had largely been peaceful, some individuals had reportedly engaged in violence. Significant damage to school facilities was also recorded, including at the Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes, whose front entrance was set alight. Teachers and emergency responders have also been injured.
On September 28, a 14-year-old boy was reported to have suffered a fractured jaw when a tear gas grenade struck his head. On October 5, another 15-year-old boy lost his hand when he allegedly picked up a stun grenade. The use of stun grenades at student protests has since been provisionally suspended, while the officer involved in the September 28 incident was charged.
The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, confirmed on October 13 that 36 cases of alleged police misconduct related to the student protests had been opened with the Inspectorate General of the National Police.
The police response to demonstrators has received the attention of the UN. On October 9, Shabia Mantoo, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Agency stated that:
“We are following with concern incidents related to the student protests and high school blockades in France, some of which have turned violent. We call on everyone to ensure that they remain peaceful and ensure that there is no disproportionate use of force by law enforcement.”
Also on Friday, October 9, a government source shared that authorities were observing a “marked slowdown” in the movement’s momentum. That call was premature, to say the least.
PHOTO: Protest in Paris published 20 October 2026, Pierre-Louis Mièze on UnSplash
A startling escalation on October 17
On Saturday, October 17, protests took a turn as unrest reached new heights. The Interior Ministry estimated that 550,000 people marched nationwide, more than double that on October 6.
The influx of protestors was in part a response to calls on social media to resurrect the ‘Gilets Jaunes’ or ‘Yellow Vest’ movement, which peaked from 2018 to 2019. 8 years ago, workers, motorists, retirees and trade unionists across industries took to the streets to denounce the Macron government’s proposed increase to fuel taxes. Last week, they gathered again to support students and protest against a broader deterioration of public services, rising fuel prices and the cost-of-living.
Meanwhile, 2,700 people were arrested during and in the days following October 17 as looting and rioting broke out. In Paris alone, at least 855 arrests were made according to police, although that figure has likely risen since Sunday morning.
Distressing videos appeared online of lone vendors attempting to defend their shopfronts from masked assailants carrying boxes of stolen goods. The burning of the historical, 19th Century Limoges town hall also made international headlines.
On Sunday, October 18, French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the nation, where he called for the lawful prosecution of thieves, rioters and arsonists.
Macron was careful to separate protestors with legitimate demands from those who opportunistically engaged in violence.
“Yesterday, some hundreds and thousands of men and women and fellow citizens protested with legitimate claims, and we should never mix up those people, those men and women who protested peacefully, with protestors and rioters. Because there are people out there who rightfully feel that the price of fuel is going too high a price, which has increased because of what has happened in the Persian Gulf, a war that France was not part of. This is a miscontent that is being expressed in other European capitals.”
Macron shared that he would be heading out to the Gulf states on Monday morning to speak on behalf of France with respect to the fuel crisis. He also outlined plans to consult with union groups, students and teachers to work together with parliamentarians and local governments and devise solutions.
“We cannot ask our youth to believe in a future without giving them the possibility to build that future, to take part in the discussion.”
However, as the government tries to claw back a budget already in deficit, there appears little fiscal room to increase funding for public education. Meanwhile, localised curfews and protest bans have been introduced in parts of France.
PHOTO: Protest on Europe Avenue in Aix-en-Provence on 17 October 2026, Gabriel from92 on Wikimedia Commons
Outside France, discontent is also being expressed in Belgium, Spain, Italy and Albania, where protests have similarly broken out over poor conditions in schools, in addition to access to housing, corruption and unemployment. In Milan, the Italian government reacted to looting in the city centre by deploying an additional 500 soldiers and introducing new offences for endangering public safety. Beyond Europe, the youth-led ‘Cockroach’ movement in India is also gaining traction. It grew from frustration over the alleged leaking of medical school entrance exam papers into a wider denunciation of institutional corruption and young people’s exclusion from government decision-making.
The trend seems to indicate a common sentiment among young people across the globe, a shared feeling of powerlessness in deciding their futures. This is a feeling that older generations also appear to increasingly relate to as economic uncertainty threatens the livelihoods that they have built.
In the same speech, Macron foreshadowed the upcoming election in six months, and asked constituents to express themselves through the ballot box, respectful public debate and the media, rather than violence.
The upcoming presidential election
The events of the past month, and candidates’ reactions, will be pivotal in establishing the narratives that define the upcoming French presidential election in April 2027.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the presidential candidate from the far-left party France Unbowed (La France Insoumise), has made appearances at demonstrations and continues to strongly support student protestors. Some of his key campaign promises include lowering the voting age to 16 and abolishing Parcoursup, the admission software at the heart of several students’ complaints.
Following the riots of October 17, Marine Le Pen, far-right candidate from National Rally (Rassemblement National), delivered her own version of a national address. Le Pen laid blame for violent protests on the Macron government for its inaction, France Unbowed for allegedly trivialising violence and, typical of her party’s anti-immigration ethos, also blamed “decades of chaotic immigration” without any particular evidence. Like Macron, Le Pen was careful to delineate anarchists from legitimate protestors, possibly for fear of alienating those ‘yellow vest’ demonstrators who previously found support in National Rally in 2018.
“These grievances are often legitimate given how many crises have followed one another without a single decision being taken. But let things be clear, very clear. There are millions of French who are angry, but who do not break anything, loot anything or burn anything.”
Although Macron is constitutionally prohibited from running for a third consecutive term in 2027, his response to protests will be crucial in writing his own Presidency’s legacy and will likely influence the agenda of the next.
Most high school students will not be eligible to vote in 2027; however, they will be in future years, carrying with them the memories of their leaders’ sympathy or indifference to their anger. Meanwhile, other interest groups, including parents, union workers and anyone concerned by the cost-of-living crisis each hold a stake in any reform outcomes that arise from protests.
Ashley Beyer
Ashley is a fifth-year law and politics, philosophy and economics student at Monash University. In 2024, she was fortunate to go on exchange in Paris, which sparked her interest in international law and diplomacy. As a life-long student, Ashley is passionate about improving access to education and bridging the gap in global economic inequality.