French teachers strike as high schools blocked in protests

As of 8:39 a.m. ET, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026

French teachers joined nationwide strikes Thursday, Nov. 5, as trade unions threw their weight behind a high school protest movement that has spread across France for more than a month, and students blocked a number of high schools, known as lycées.

Hundreds of high schools were closed or could not operate, some because of protests and others because teachers joined the strike, The Associated Press reported.

Government and union counts differ

The Education Ministry said 15.81% of teachers were on strike, including 19.14% in primary schools and 13.53% in middle and high schools, according to a ministry statement reported by Europe 1 and AFP. The SNES-FSU, the largest union in secondary education, said 52% of staff in middle and high schools were striking.

About 2.2% of high schools, or 81 of roughly 3,700, were blocked as of 10 a.m., the prime minister's office said, and the Education Ministry said no blockades were recorded in 84% of départements. The Union syndicale lycéenne, a high school students' union, said about 1,000 lycées were at a standstill, counting both blocked schools and those closed by administrators.

A higher-education ministry count put about 60 of 184 institutions as "disrupted," while student unions said 90% of France's roughly 70 universities were "mobilized," meaning blocked or closed, Europe 1 reported.

A movement that began at one school

The movement grew from a protest over staff shortages at one high school southeast of Paris in September, AP reported, and spread nationwide as students demanded more education funding. Workers seeking higher wages and help with rising fuel and living costs have since joined.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 70,000 police officers were being deployed Thursday, backed by armored vehicles, drones and helicopters, AP reported. Police in Strasbourg warned people to be extremely cautious around certain schools, and authorities in Brittany said masked individuals tried to block roads in Rennes, according to AP.

"Fuel, food products, rent, gas, electricity … everything's going up except wages and pensions," France's main unions said in a joint statement quoted by AP.