Protests

France: new student protests – 200 secondary schools closed. Greta Thunberg also takes to the streets

French students are highlighting shortcomings in the education system and calling for investment, whilst activist Greta Thunberg is supporting their fight ‘for a better future’

13 October 2026

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Macron a vigilia mobilitazione studenti: "Serve ordine e rispetto"

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Another day of student protests in France, in what has been dubbed the Fifth Act of the mobilisation, which began on the outskirts of Paris and has been ongoing for three weeks. Secondary school pupils are complaining about a lack of teachers and dilapidated buildings, and are calling for better conditions in which to study.

Francia, la mobilitazione continua, tensioni anche a Science Po

200 secondary schools remain closed

The Minister for Education, Édouard Geffray, said in an interview with France Inter that around 200 secondary schools will remain closed today, a figure lower than in previous weeks. According to *Le Figaro*, the French government hopes that the protest movement will die down.

Francia, studenti ancora in piazza: sit-in e blocchi a Parigi

Greta Thunberg: ‘We are fighting for our stolen future’

“Young people aren’t being involved in the discussions. They are stealing our future and, as we have seen here, schools are not receiving the investment they need.” These were the words of Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was also on the streets, speaking to reporters outside the Lycée Paul-Eluard in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, where over a hundred young people had gathered as part of the so-called ‘fifth act’ of the student protests in France.

The 23-year-old Scandinavian woman, with a keffiyeh draped over her shoulders, then added: ‘So, what should we do? Give up? Of course not. That’s exactly what people are saying here: we won’t give up and we’ll fight for this future that’s being snatched away from us right before our eyes.’ Thunberg then said she was ‘extremely proud of the French students’.

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Upcoming events

In Paris, the student demonstration will set off at 2 pm from Place d’Italie, heading towards Les Invalides, not far from the Hôtel Matignon (the French Prime Minister’s official residence, equivalent to Palazzo Chigi) and the Ministry of Education.

A call for an unauthorised demonstration between the Hôtel de Ville and the Palais Matignon is also circulating on social media. Demonstrations are also planned for this morning in other French cities such as Reims, Marseille, Pau, Toulon, Lyon, Orléans, Brest, Lorient, Nantes and Clermont-Ferrand.

“If they won’t listen to us, we’ll go and get them,” writes the Union étudiante in a post on X, referring to the secondary school pupils’ request to meet with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The Université Paris-Assas in Paris has also been blockaded.

“Numerous blockades are currently taking place at various secondary schools in Strasbourg,” the Police Nationale writes on X, highlighting traffic disruption and urging motorists to avoid the areas affected by the protests. In an interview with LCI, the President of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet, emphasised the need to listen to the students’ demands.

“The government’s response,” he says, “is interesting, but we must carry on – carry on engaging with these young people.” He adds: “We must listen to them and talk to them.” Hence the appeal for the “demonstrations to take place peacefully”.

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