France keeps 400 schools closed as country gripped by student protests

 

France keeps 400 schools closed as country gripped by student protests

AP Archive

Oct 7, 2026

(2 Oct 2026) 

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: 

ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Paris, France - 2 October 2026

1. Various of high school students protesting outside Voltaire high school with people driving by and honking in support

2. Wide of protest signs and students' feet on barricade at Voltaire high school protest

3. Mid of various protest signs 

4. Mid of protesters singing French National Anthem: 'La Marseillaise'

5. Wide of students protesting outside a high school in France, holding signs and banners.

6. SOUNDBITE (French) Sophie Bordy, literature teacher: "The youth is extremely anxious. High school students are very anxious, mainly because of Parcoursup (France’s online platform for university admissions). Regarding all high school students in France, there is a lack of places in higher education, and the algorithms make it unclear why some of our students don't have a place in higher education even though they have excellent records, have passed the baccalaureate with honors, and therefore, we as teachers understand this movement."

7. Wide of Voltaire bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon at Voltaire high school

8. Mid of students clapping and chanting during the high school protest

9. Wide of high school students gathering on the street during protest in France and drivers passing by and honking in support

10. SOUNDBITE (French) Sophie Bordy, literature teacher:

"I think the French support the movement because, those who have children understand the anxieties that students, young people, experience regarding Parcoursup (France’s online platform for university admissions) and the future being offered to them. We are coming out of an extremely severe heatwave. Here, they took their exams in gyms, basements, on ping-pong tables. The public needs to know that we did not have the same study conditions; I am 50 years old. It has deteriorated significantly."

11. Mid of protest sign reading (French) 'Anger' at protest

12. Close up of protest signs at the high school demonstration in France demanding justice and critiquing police presence. (French) 'Police Everywhere, Justice Nowhere'

13. Mid of protester holding a sign reading (French) 'To protest is a fundamental right'

14. SOUNDBITE (French) Sophie Bordy, literature teacher: 

"In my opinion, the treatment by the State and police violence only make things worse. It seems quite urgent to me that the State considers having the minister meet with the young people and understand that their anxieties are real. And these are young adults, you know, they are 16, 17, 18 years old. They are future citizens. Some of them are even citizens already. They must be urgently received so that a genuine signal of appeasement is given by the government."

15. Wide of students gathering outside a high school in France during the protest

STORYLINE:

High school students built a barricade in front of  Voltaire High School in northeastern Paris on Friday, in a fifth day of protests in the French capital demanding more resources for education and denouncing pressure on students.

Voltaire High School is one of the 400 high schools that remained closed on Friday, but students nevertheless gathered in front of it. Students taking part in the protest cited staff shortages, deteriorating conditions in some schools, long school days and Parcoursup, France’s national online platform for university admissions.

Sophie Bordy, a literature teacher in Voltaire high school  says there are reasons for the students to be anxious and that parents and, more generally, the population have understanding.

AP video shot by Oleg CETINIC.