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Photos: The Student Protests in France

For much of the past month, students in France, alongside teachers and union members, have been protesting against poor conditions in schools. Thousands have been arrested following a day of nationwide demonstrations and blockades yesterday.

By · October 7, 2026 · 3 min read
This article was originally published by The Atlantic and is republished here under license.
People gather on and around a large statue in Paris during a student protest.
Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / Getty
People gather on and around a statue in the center of Place de la République at the end of a demonstration on a day of nationwide protests organized by high-school students and joined by unions and teachers, who for days have been demanding better learning conditions, in Paris, on October 6, 2026.
A large crowd of protesting students carrying many hand-made signs
Stephane Mahe / Reuters
French high-school and university students attend a demonstration on a nationwide day of protests and blockades, in Nantes on October 6, 2026. Demonstrators are voicing their anger over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, underinvestment, dilapidated school buildings, recent police actions, and more.
Riot police watch a fire at a makeshift barricade set up by protesters in a city street.
Olivier Chassignole / AFP / Getty
Riot police watch a fire at a makeshift barricade set up by protesters during a demonstration organized by high-school students in Lyon on October 6, 2026.
A group of riot police in full gear run down a street. One hurdles a toppled garbage bin.
Philippe Lopez / AFP / Getty
Riot police charge protesters at the end of a student demonstration in Bordeaux on October 6, 2026.
Student protesters, including one wearing a pigeon mask, push on the shields of several riot police.
Lou Benoist / AFP / Getty
Riot police face protesting students who carry out a blockade outside Lycée Le Corbusier, in Aubervilliers, Paris, on October 1, 2026.
A riot police officer in full gear, holding a baton, stands much taller than a young person they are detaining.
Jean-Christophe Verhaegen / AFP / Getty
A youth is detained by a riot police officer in Nancy on October 5, 2026.
Student protesters stand together in a street behind a makeshift barricade of garbage bins and scaffolding.
Tom Nicholson / Getty
Students block the road outside Sciences Po during a protest on October 7, 2026, in Paris.
Protesting students gather and hold placards as they blockade part of a school.
Lou Benoist / AFP / Getty
Protesting students gather and hold placards as they blockade part of Lycée Turgot in Paris on October 5, 2026.
A high-school principal stands outside a school building beside damaged doors and debris, after a protest.
Yves Herman / Reuters
Carole Zerbib, the principal of Lycée Vauquelin, talks with journalists in front of the school’s damaged entrance doors and a pile of bicycles and garbage bins set on fire by protesters, in Paris, on October 5, 2026.
Students protesters tear down a traffic light.
Jean-Francois Badias / AP
Students tear down a traffic light next to Lycée César Baggio, which was blocked in protest of the government’s release of next year’s draft budget, in Lille, on September 29, 2026.
A police officer, one of three officers in riot gear, aims a riot-control weapon.
Christophe Archambault / AFP / Getty
A police officer aims a riot-control weapon during a demonstration in Bordeaux on October 6, 2026.
Protesters walk away from a cloud of tear gas.
Yves Herman / Reuters
Protesters walk through tear gas amid clashes at Place de la Nation during a demonstration in Paris on October 6, 2026.
Police officers spray protesting students with pepper spray.
Thibault Camus / AP
Police officers spray students with pepper spray near Sciences Po as they protest under-resourced schools, in Paris on October 7, 2026.
A protesting student reacts beside a burning barricade in a street.
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty
A student protester stands beside a barricade near Lycée Déodat de Séverac in Toulouse on October 1, 2026.
A student protester falls as they are detained by many riot police officers surrounding them.
Sarah Meyssonnier / Reuters
Riot police detain a protester on the Boulevard Saint-Germain during a demonstration outside Sciences Po in Paris on October 7, 2026.
Riot police officers stand in a street as fireworks go off above them.
Olivier Chassignole / AFP / Getty
Riot police officers stand as fireworks go off above them during a demonstration in Lyon on October 6, 2026.
A student protester wearing a face mask walks, holding their head; cloud of tear gas is in the background.
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty
Protesters shield themselves from tear gas fired by riot police during a demonstration in Toulouse on October 6, 2026.
A large crowd of protesters marches on a tree-lined avenue.
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty
Protesters march during part of a nationwide protest movement, in Toulouse, on October 6, 2026.
Protesters march while chanting. One, at the center, holds a megaphone.
Ed Jones / AFP / Getty
Protesters rally in Toulouse on October 6, 2026.
Protesting students raise their hands in front of riot police officers.
Tom Nicholson / Getty
Students raise their hands in front of riot police officers as they demonstrate outside Sciences Po on October 7, 2026, in Paris.
Protesting students chant in front of a blockaded high school.
on Thibault Camus / AP
Students chant in front of a blockaded high school as they protest against under-resourced schools, in Paris, on October 7, 2026.
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