Hundreds of French Schools Closed as Student Protests Continue, 5 October 2026

Closures on Monday morning

Paris, 5 October 2026. Hundreds of French high schools were closed or disrupted as student protests over rundown buildings and teacher shortages entered another week.

National Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Sunday that 400 to 500 of about 3,700 secondary schools were likely to be fully or partly closed on Monday. The ministry later said lessons were disrupted at 413 schools, down from 564 reported around midday Friday.

What officials say started it

The demonstrations began in late September at a high school in Creteil, outside Paris, and then spread. Geffray said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked and 78 teaching staff injured since the protests began.

Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told CNews the priority was to restore order. In Paris, students barricaded at least one school entrance with bins and fences. Police and students clashed in Lille, and tear gas was used in Toulouse, according to BFMTV.