Macron faces renewed school blockades as students reject new measures
Protests returned to French high schools on Monday, with unions warning that the academic year is now at risk for final-year students.
By Austin Reed ·
French high school students resumed blockading their campuses on Monday, defying President Emmanuel Macron's request to end the demonstrations. The action marks the return of a protest movement that has dominated social discourse since September. Students are demanding better school facilities and lower living costs, while the government warns that the disruption is jeopardizing the academic calendar.
The conflict intensified as students returned from a two-week holiday. Unions in Paris, Lille, Toulouse, and Marseille rejected the administration's recent offers. These proposals included capping certain class sizes and reviewing the university application platform. Students argued that these steps were insufficient to address the core issues of funding and infrastructure.
The dispute began in September when students first barricaded school entrances. Since then, the movement has grown into one of the major social crises of Macron's presidency. The government recently introduced measures to address some concerns, but student leaders maintained that the proposals did not go far enough to warrant an end to the protests.
On Monday morning, students placed wheelie bins at school entrances to block entry. Police attempted to remove the barriers and made arrests in several locations. University student unions planned to install similar barricades at faculties on Tuesday. A larger wave of strikes is scheduled for Thursday, involving rail workers, teachers, and private sector employees.
Nathanaël Combary, a member of the students' union Renouveau Lycéen and the ruling Renaissance party, said the group must maintain a "battle of strength" with the government. He described the government's response as "scandalous" and stated that protests were the only effective method to secure better access to higher education and school repairs.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray stated that the school year was "at risk" for hundreds of thousands of baccalauréat candidates. He noted that many had missed four to five weeks of instruction, including holidays. Geffray declared the blockades "illegal" and emphasized his priority to return children to class. In Montpellier, Socialist Senator Hussein Bourgi criticized the government after a 53-year-old school nurse was arrested and pinned to the ground during a protest.
The education ministry reported that 41 high schools were blocked nationwide, a figure representing about 1% of the total. Student unions claimed the number was actually 150. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced he would meet with student unions again next week to continue discussions.
