On Tuesday, September 29, 2026, the Paul-Éluard high school in Saint-Denis experienced a third day of blockades. Students are protesting the lack of resources, the dilapidated state of the facilities, and the absence of replacement teachers. Following clashes the previous day, the demonstration took place under a heavy police presence, with no incidents reported in the morning.
Demands regarding study conditions
From 10 a.m., police officers and gendarmes were stationed in front of the school. High school students, gathered near the gates, spoke through a megaphone. On their signs, they denounced, in particular, the lack of consideration for young people from underprivileged neighborhoods and demanded more resources for education.
The movement, which began in the Île-de-France region the previous week, has spread to several cities. The demands concern school resources, the replacement of absent teachers, timetables, and the condition of school buildings.
Nour*, a final-year student, describes classrooms that are sometimes overcrowded and lack chairs. She also states that the walls are crumbling, the restrooms are dilapidated, and the school has neither a social worker nor a full-time nurse. She says she went two months without a French teacher the previous year while preparing for the French baccalaureate exam.
Mohammed, 19, a student in a two-year vocational program, reports a similar experience: according to him, he didn’t have a philosophy teacher for seven months during his final year of high school. He also mentions the presence of rats in the classrooms.
The tensions of the previous day were still fresh in people’s minds.
The mobilization comes the day after clashes between high school students and law enforcement. Yousra, a former student of the school who came to support the students, recounts that staff and teachers had joined hands the previous day to protect the young people. A member of the administration, identified only as Lila*, mentions police brutality and points out that the students are minors.
The situation then became tense at times. Mohammed reported that a sofa had been burned. A school safety officer, nicknamed « Uncle Redouane » by the students, deplored the destruction of the gate, while also expressing his support for the students’ demands and urging them not to vandalize the school.
Lila believes that social media can amplify protests and that people outside the school have sometimes fueled tensions. She distinguishes this behavior from the students’ demands, which she considers understandable and linked to difficulties that, in her view, are not limited to Paul-Éluard.
A movement that goes beyond Paul-Éluard
Other schools in Saint-Denis also mobilized, including the Frédéric-Bartoldi vocational high school and the Suger high school in the Franc-Moisin district. In the early afternoon, students from Paris 8 University joined the gathering before continuing their march along Avenue Jean-Moulin.
For Nour, academic difficulties are compounded by the feeling of being stigmatized because of her headscarf. She says she wants to become a doctor and plans to continue her studies at Sorbonne-Paris-Nord University, on the Bobigny campus. However, she fears that her high school and her geographical origin will limit her career options.
The high school student presents her activism as a way to defend the ambitions of students from the suburbs, despite the obstacles she describes. The names Nour and Lila have been changed.
Source: France 24 – News & current events – Live international news (www.france24.com)
Original article: See the original source
Author: Pauline ROUQUETTE
