Paris (France) (AFP) – The resumption of classes was disrupted on Monday by blockages in several high schools, before a week of high tension with the mobilization of employees on Thursday against the high cost of living in which youth organizations want to participate.

Published on: 02/11/2026 - 17:27

At 9:30 a.m., 41 establishments were blocked, or a little more than 1% of the approximately 3,700 establishments in France, according to ministry figures.

“It is a priori quite residual (...)”, affirmed on France Inter the Minister of Education Édouard Geffray.

And the movement should gain momentum this week, with a call launched to block colleges and high schools on Tuesday. This “should be a dark day for universities”, launched Unef this weekend.

“The anger continues. We don’t feel any loss of breath at all,” says Coppélia Moreau, of Interfac Île-de-France, which presents itself as the general assembly of students from Ile-de-France faculties.

The collective wanted to demonstrate on Tuesday between the Pantheon and the Medef headquarters but the prefecture vetoed it and proposed a route on the outskirts, between the gates of Charenton and Montreuil.

Refusing this alternative route, the collective intends to take the matter to the administrative court.

- Dumpsters and grills -

In Marseille, seven high schools were blocked on Monday, out of the city's 75 schools, according to high school activists.

In the city center, the entrance to Montgrand high school was blocked in the morning by several garbage dumpsters stacked in front of the gates.

Last week, the government announced a series of measures to try to put an end to the movement, which began in mid-September.

The Ministers of Education and Higher Education notably promised the gradual replacement of Parcoursup by 2028, the cancellation of the job cuts planned in National Education, the creation of 500 additional positions, a capping of 28 students per second year class and 15,000 additional places in higher education.

A “first step” deemed insufficient by the youth organizations who all called for continued mobilization.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu reiterated his readiness to receive representatives of high school students “next week”.

“Crumbs”

“There have been measures perhaps, there are some that may be acceptable, others that are ridiculous,” said Pia, 17, a senior at the Condorcet high school in Paris, also blocked Monday morning.

The inter-union group bringing together the High School Union (USL), Unef, Fage and the Student Union is demanding an investment of 10 billion euros in education and higher education as well as the repeal of Parcoursup.

In Toulouse, at least seven establishments were blocked, AFP noted.

“It’s not two government announcements that will expire in a few months that will stop the movement,” Anton, 17, a student at Berthelot high school, told AFP.

In Lyon, the Rhône prefecture counted 15 establishments with crowds at the entrance and another having decided to teach remotely.

In front of the Ampère high school, the blockade ended. The CRS peacefully removed the trash cans, street furniture and scooters that had been placed there.

“The plan was to block the establishment because we have answers (from the government) which are a bit like breadcrumbs,” explained Adam, organizer of the blockade.

The police also made an arrest in the suburbs of Lyon for the use of mortar.

“Year at risk”

“The absolute priority... is that the students can go to class. I have students who are taking the baccalaureate at the end of the year, several hundred thousand of whom have not had class for 4 or 5 weeks (...) and for whom, consequently, the school year is now at risk,” warned Édouard Geffray.

On the ground, some students are starting to show their concerns.

“Frankly it could be good to get back into the rhythm a little bit,” confided Ferdinand, a first year student in Lyon, who is alarmed by “a certain delay to catch up with tests”.

“I support the movement and the demands but it’s hot, it’s been a month since we had class,” also testified a second year student, 14, in front of the Lycée des Arènes in Toulouse, blocked by a hundred young people.

School heads were also apprehensive about the resumption: “no one knows what to expect, everyone is a little on the alert,” confided Agnès Andersen, general secretary of the ID-FO school heads union, on the eve of the start of the school year.

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© 2026 AFP

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