France protests 2026 not just about schools

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France’s protests have long been the stuff of legend, literature and Broadway musicals. But even by these famous standards, last weekend’s demonstrations were remarkable.

More than half a million people have taken to the streets in occasionally violent protests, posing a growing political challenge to the French government. The movement began about a month ago out of concern about the dire state of public high schools, which are often underfunded and understaffed.

But in the following weeks, student protests quickly expanded to encompass broader grievances about inequality, high living costs and public services. The ranks of protesters have also grown, including opportunistic looters and agitators.

In Paris, masked thugs smashed shops and set fires and students blocked the Louvre museum on Monday, forcing it to close. In Limoges, a city of about 130,000 people, the spire of a 19th-century town hall collapsed dramatically during the fire.

The national government imposed curfews on some cities, including Paris, Nice and Lille, and strongly condemned the violence. In a televised speech on Sunday night, French President Emmanuel Macron also pledged to work with students, teachers, unions and other groups to find “joint solutions”.

But it’s unclear what solutions might work for the entire newly expanded movement. The original student protesters sought specific education reforms, such as smaller class sizes and less chaotic schedules. Demands are now more fragmented and disjointed, reflecting, as Macron himself said, a feeling among young French people that “there is no ideal future”. With just six months until the country’s next presidential election, France’s far right is already taking advantage of the situation.

If you’re feeling a bit of déjà vu here—that’s French for “already seen,” FYI—know that you have a good reason. Three years ago, the French also staged massive mass protests against proposals to raise the retirement age. Gas taxes were also raised five years ago. Some historians trace France’s protest culture to the 1300s.

Although not must It is true that the French demonstrate more than people in other Western countries, but their protests do tend to attract widespread global attention. Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Albania, for example, have also seen recent youth protests targeting education, living costs and government corruption. I bet you know less about them.

But there are two explanations for why the protests in France are so massive. First, protest holds a special place in French history and culture – and the whole world knows this. As one political scientist explained in a 1994 paper on the history of protest in France, the French have an unusual, centuries-long record of turning demonstrations into actual political change, arguably starting with the French Revolution.

More recently, in 1968, student protests expanded into a larger workers’ strike that nearly toppled the government. Many of today’s young protesters specifically mention this tradition in interviews and slogans.

But that’s not the only reason the French always protest. The situation in France is also… quite protestant. Consider only the narrow issue of public education that fuels the current uproar.

It is estimated that funding for higher education per student has decreased by 20% over the past 10 years. High school classrooms are often overcrowded, and the Guardian cited a government report that concluded the country’s aging schools need billions of dollars in building repairs and climate change mitigation.

The government points to France’s tight financial situation as a limiting factor in addressing these issues. (To be fair, France’s finances are indeed very tight.) However, there is a sense that young people are bearing the cost of this crisis more than other groups. Cost-cutting measures affecting older people – such as raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 – have been postponed in the face of fierce opposition. Of course, by “opposition” I mean protest.

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