French high school blockades, USA News (France): The school term resumption on Monday was marked by a wave of blockades across several French high schools following the two-week All Saints holidays. During the early hours of the morning, mobilized students placed trash cans and barricades in front of various educational institutions to restrict access to classes.
According to initial information reported by AFP in Marseille, the mobilization involved roughly seven out of approximately 75 high schools in the city. Tensions were also reported outside the Marseilleveyre school complex, where parents sought to secure entry for their children. In Toulouse, the Saint-Sernin high school was blocked, while calls for mobilization targeted around fifteen other institutions. In Lyon, trash cans were positioned outside the Ampère high school to obstruct entrances. In the Paris region, the movement impacted the Hélène-Boucher high school in the 20th arrondissement, where roughly twenty youths set up barricades, alongside disruptions noted in Ivry-sur-Seine in the Val-de-Marne. In the Nord department and Rennes, attempted blockades were also recorded without an exact tally of affected institutions available.
Despite these demonstrations, the government sought to downplay the scale of the movement. Appearing on France Inter on Monday morning, Minister of National Education Édouard Geffray described the blockades as fairly residual for the time being. Meanwhile, Minister of Higher Education Philippe Baptiste stated on LCI that ensuring everyone returns to high school and university benches is paramount, calling for an end to blockades while acknowledging the right to hold differing views and continue discussions.
Law enforcement intervened Monday morning outside the Condorcet high school in the 9th arrondissement of Paris to prevent an emerging blockade. Arrests of high school students occurred, and student entry into the facility proceeded under the observation of police officers stationed on both sides of the access door. In Brest, hundreds of students blocked the Kerichen campus, igniting fires and halting all entries, with participants expressing concern for their futures despite government announcements.
The return to school on Monday, November 2, 2026, followed warnings from the executive branch regarding potential protests by youth organizations active since mid-September. Despite executive concessions including a major reform of Parcoursup starting in 2027 before its planned replacement in 2028, several student and high school unions maintained pressure. Pierre Sourzat, president of the Les Lycéens! organization, confirmed that institutions would face blockades, while the Syndical Lyceum Union and Student Union called for further actions on Tuesday and Thursday. The Unef union also targeted Tuesday, November 3, as a day of action across universities following previous unrest on October 17.
