From overcrowded classrooms and a lack of teachers and resources to high temperatures in classrooms and deteriorating study conditions, there are many demands from high school students in France, who have escalated their protests in recent days by closing a number of educational institutions. In the suburb of Saint-Denis (near Paris), confrontations took place with security forces, while demands expand to include improving educational conditions and addressing what students consider a disparity in resources between schools. As for the government, it adheres to the necessity of resuming studies.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 15:47 Last updated: 02/10/2026 - 15:58

“I participate in the closure of schools and high schools to denounce the deterioration of study conditions,” says Shiraz (16 years old), who has been participating in the student protests in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis for a week.

Speaking to France 24, the student added: “I, for example, study in the specialized section at Séger Secondary School in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and it includes 35 students. It is difficult to concentrate due to the high number of students, and even the teachers find it difficult to explain the lessons.”

She continued, saying: “During the summer, the temperature in the classrooms exceeds 30 degrees. In the winter we feel cold. In addition, there is no social worker in the high school, which receives 2,000 students daily, the majority of whom suffer from psychological and financial problems and come from poor families.”

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The wave of student protests was renewed on Friday after calls by secondary school students to mobilize to denounce school conditions and demand the provision of replacements for absent teachers, and more resources and capabilities.

“Resources always go to elite high schools.”

In Saint-Denis, the spark of protests took place at Paul Eluard High School, near Saint-Denis University, where some students tried to set fire to garbage containers to prevent students from enrolling in classes. Which caused the security forces to intervene and fire tear gas. They dispersed and moved to Sujeh High School in the vicinity, where they closed it, raising slogans against the Minister of Education, Edouard Jeffrey, and the security forces, who rushed to the high school building and surrounded and protected it, before closing its doors.

Read also: France: After a day full of tension... mobilization continues in secondary schools throughout the country

Sarah (17 years old), who participated in the closure of the “Souge” high school, said: “We feel a kind of racial discrimination. Why do the Parisian high schools that are located in the wealthy circles have all the capabilities and resources, and the students in them study normally, unlike our schools, which lack everything? I do not understand why the Minister of Education and members of the government in general talk about equality of rights and duties among all the people of this nation, while the resources always go to the elite high schools, where the children of political officials live and study. We are not getting anything. That is why we will continue. Our protests, because we have nothing to lose."

From "Souge" High School in Saint-Denis, we moved to "Le Corbisier" High School in the municipality of Aubervilliers, which the students closed and burned the garbage containers located near it. The security forces intervened and fired tear gas, which caused a back-and-forth with the protesters, while the gendarmerie forces arrested a student and took him to the security screening unit, which is located only meters away from the high school. Tension increased among the students, who surrounded the detachment for about an hour, before the security forces released him.

“We do not want to make a revolution, we only demand improvement in educational conditions.”

The young man, Qassem, participated in the short march linking Le Corbizier High School with the security detachment, and raised slogans against the police, asking: “Why this huge number of security personnel? We do not want to carry out a revolution or attack any institution, but rather we are only demanding our rights and the improvement of our educational conditions.”

Qassim continued: “How can I prepare for the baccalaureate exams calmly amidst this great violence and the government’s denial of the reality in which we live?”

The clashes renewed on Friday morning in the same high school, where security forces fired tear gas at the students in order to evacuate the entrance to the high school, and to allow those who wanted to study to do so.

Read also: Dozens of injuries and arrests during protests by high school students in several French cities

About 400 educational institutions were closed

After that, the students of “Le Corbizier” secondary school and other nearby high schools, such as “Alembert” and “Henri Fallon” secondary schools, decided to join another high school called “Tambo” in the municipality of Aubervilliers, in order to continue the protests and spread them to all schools, according to Qassim.

According to the Ministry of Education, 11 high schools in the Saint-Denis suburb have been closed until suitable conditions for study return. Paris Police Director Patrice Faure also announced a ban on gatherings around 13 other Parisian high schools, while the Interior Ministry confirmed the arrest of about 2,000 people on Thursday across the country.

The Ministry of Education also confirmed on Friday the closure of about 400 educational institutions throughout France, while Edouard Jeffrey requested reliance on distance education in these institutions, so that students can continue their studies. The same ministry also counted approximately 1,200 attempts to close high schools in France.

Regarding the number of wounded, according to the Ministry of Education, about 160 students were injured of varying severity, as well as 65 officials in educational institutions, including 40 high school principals.

Bearing the costs of the losses caused by their children to the parents of the students

For his part, French Minister of Justice Gerald Darmanin asked public prosecutors to hold parents of students civilly liable if their children caused damage during the secondary school closure movements, with the aim of obliging them, as he put it, to "pay the costs of repairs."

The French government says the protests are generally irresponsible, and has acknowledged that difficulties in secondary schools must be acknowledged and addressed.

After the Proud France Party (far left) was accused of urging students to protest and close educational institutions, its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, denied that he was behind the protests, calling on young people to “commit to discipline.” “You should not resort to anything other than peaceful and non-violent methods of struggle,” he said.

Taher Hani

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