Over 3,000 people, mostly students, have been detained so far, including 1,949 people on Thursday (October 1, 2026) alone. Around 400 schools remained closed on Friday (October 2, 2026). The Story So Far: Across France, teenagers have been using trash cans and furniture to stage blockades ( blocus in French) at the entrances of lycées or high schools in protest over poor conditions in schools. Over the past two days, the police used force against demonstrators after some of the protests turned violent, with several schools set ablaze.
Teachers, particularly from primary schools, and school staff have also joined the protest demanding better pay. This has also been a major grievance that the students want to be addressed through the protest. Trash cans were set on fire, and projectiles were also thrown at schools by protesters. Two schools in Nantes and Le Havre were set on fire by the protesters, and a teacher was reportedly doused in petrol. Municipal tram lines were halted by the authorities. The riot police used less lethal crowd control measures like tear gas and rubber bullets, causing injuries to dozens of protesters, which have drawn criticism from the opposition.
AFP reported that in the draft 2027 budget Bill, the government has planned to cut expenditure by €43 billion to reduce the deficit to 5%. France experienced one of the hottest summers this year, with heatwaves pushing temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in several regions. This has been particularly grueling for students who are in classrooms with over 30 people with poor insulation, and no air conditioning for over nine hours a day. On Wednesday (September 30, 2026), around 85 police officers and gendarmes were injured in the clashes.
The protests gained momentum and coincided with the larger public workers’ protests over the planned budget cuts by the Emmanuel Macron government before the next year’s presidential election.
