DOMINANT ANGLE
Paris is deciphering the high school crisis as a political test, less than seven months from the presidential election: between "act 3", government responses, and accusations targeting La France insoumise, the street is weighing on the executive.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Education Ministry reported 735 disrupted institutions on Friday, October 2, out of approximately 3,700, "30% fewer" than on Thursday, with 400 high schools closed.
- 02
Student organizations are calling for a "third act" on October 6 after receiving a consultation platform from Geffray but "no concrete commitments".
- 03
Darmanin is asking prosecutors for a "firm and immediate" penal response and for the civil liability of parents to be engaged; nearly 2,000 arrests have been made since the start of the movement.
ANALYSIS
Paris, October 3, 2026. After more than a week of blockages, the high school movement is not dying down. Born out of a teachers' strike at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil on September 17, according to L'Obs, it affected 1,027 schools on Thursday, October 1, according to the Ministry of the Interior. On Friday, October 2, the Ministry of Education reported 735 disrupted schools out of approximately 3,700, or "30% fewer" than the day before, with 400 high schools closed.
Received by Édouard Geffray on Friday, three high school unions left disappointed. RFI reports that the minister mainly announced a consultation platform, a first step deemed still too timid. "We didn't get any concrete commitments," summarizes Louis Letoublon, from the Les Lycéens union. The organizations are therefore calling for an "act 3" on October 6, with a large national demonstration; L'Obs also mentions an intersyndical strike of staff on that day. On Thursday evening, according to 20 Minutes, the minister had already abandoned the registration fees for BTS and preparatory classes planned in the 2027 budget project.
The government is taking a tougher stance. Gérald Darmanin sent a circular to prosecutors requesting a firm and immediate penal response and the engagement of parental civil liability, which Sud Ouest relates to article 1242 of the Civil Code. In the Pyrénées-Orientales, the prefect wrote to the parents of minors arrested. RFI reports nearly 2,000 arrests since the beginning of the movement, and in Belfort, two young adults were sentenced to suspended sentences or community service, according to BFMTV. In Nantes, the Nelson-Mandela high school, whose hall was burned, remains closed until the All Saints' vacation.
The maintenance of order is itself being contested. France 24 reported on Thursday 170 students and 65 National Education staff injured, as well as 305 police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters. HuffPost France cites a 14-year-old high school student seriously injured in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône by a grenade launcher shot, which is being investigated by the IGPN, and a 16-year-old high school student injured in the eye in Argenteuil, according to LFI MP Paul Vannier.
On the political level, Matignon condemns "urban violence" and attributes it to La France insoumise. L'Obs situates the crisis "less than seven months from the presidential election," while 20 Minutes notes that the high school students have invited themselves into the 2027 pre-campaign.
SOURCES (7)
- 20 MinutesMEDIUM
- Sud OuestMEDIUM
- HuffPost FranceMEDIUM
- L'ObsMEDIUM
- BFMTVMEDIUM
