Hundreds of French high schools shut as protests persist

Layer 1 Riot policemen run after high school students during clashes outside the Gustave Eiffel high school on the sidelines of students’ blockading action in Bordeaux, south-western France on October 5, 2026. The start of a “black week”? Hundreds of high schools are going to close again, at least partially, on October 5, 2026, on the eve of a new day of mobilisation, which unions are calling on people to join, and as calls for a hard blockade are flourishing on social media as students demand more resources for their schools and denounce the unsanitary state of buildings, overcrowded classes, or unreplaced absences, particularly in working-class neighborhoods, or even the inequalities created by Parcoursup. (Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP)

Lessons were suspended at hundreds of French high schools on Monday, as part of a wave of student protest over learning conditions that have rocked the European nation.