French student movement grows over school funding and 'failures of mass education'

A spontaneous student movement that began in the Paris suburbs has grown into one of the largest high school mobilizations in decades, driven by deteriorating teaching conditions and uncertain future prospects, with hundreds of schools now closed nationwide. The movement started September 21 with a blockade at a high school in Créteil over vacant teaching posts and spread across the country within ten days. As of Monday, October 5, 160 high schools are closed in the Ile-de-France region alone, with 400-500 affected nationally, according to officials. The government's primarily repressive response risks intensifying student anger, while union leaders describe the mobilization as historic and difficult to resolve. Protests have occurred in public and private schools, spanning general, technological, and vocational tracks.