France braces for fresh student demonstrations as Macron calls for ‘respect’
France is experiencing ongoing student protests against poor classroom conditions, with authorities reporting intensifying violence despite hopes for a lull. President Emmanuel Macron has called for respect and patience as the government faces further nationwide demonstrations.
Why it matters
The unrest reflects significant social tension in France regarding education policy and the rising cost of living.
Student protests gripping France for three weeks rumbled on Monday (October 12, 2026), though authorities hoped they were starting to ease ahead of half-term holidays -- even as the country braced for fresh nationwide demonstrations.
In an incident seemingly unrelated to the protests, police arrested a 14-year-old on Monday (October 12, 2026) near Marseille after a middle school headmaster and a teacher were shot with a hunting rifle, wounding both.
Students have blocked entrances to hundreds of lycees — high schools for children 15 to 18 — since late September to rail against poor classroom conditions, with squads of riot police deployed and occasionally violent clashes erupting.
On Monday (October 12, 2026), some 130 of France's 3,700 lycees remained closed, according to the education ministry, which said that although "the number of school closures is falling... the violence is intensifying".
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