Students Set France Ablaze.. What Do They Want This Time?

On a morning in May 1968, thousands of students poured out of Paris universities into the streets, believing they were protesting campus-related issues and student freedoms. However, what began as sit-ins inside lecture halls transformed within weeks into the largest political and social crisis France had witnessed since World War II. Factories came to a standstill, nearly ten million workers went on strike, and General Charles de Gaulle's authority was shaken. It was then that the French realized a small spark could ignite a massive political fire.

Six decades later, history seems to be repeating itself. The streets of Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Lille are witnessing a new wave of protests today, led this time by high school students, but the tools have changed.

A Republic of Permanent Protest

It is difficult to understand what is happening in France today in isolation from history. Since the French Revolution in 1789, the idea that popular pressure can force change when institutions fail to respond to demands has been deeply rooted in the collective consciousness. Since then, successive waves of uprisings, strikes, and popular movements have managed each time to reshape the political landscape.

In May 1968, a student rebellion turned into a pivotal event that transformed French society culturally and politically. This was followed by the 1986 protests against higher education reforms, and a widespread wave in 1995 against pension and social security reforms.

In 2005, the suburbs of Paris and other French cities exploded in one of the worst modern riots, after two teenagers died during a police chase. The unrest lasted for weeks, leaving behind massive economic losses and exposing the deep social divide between the suburbs and the central authority.

In 2006, students again led widespread protests against the "First Employment Contract" law, forcing the government to back down. Then came the "Yellow Vests" movement in 2018 to confirm that the street remains a primary player in French political life, before riots returned to the fore in 2023 following the killing of the young man Nahel Merzouk during a traffic check.

Overcrowded Classrooms and Teacher Shortages

The current protests officially erupted due to problems that the French education sector has known for years.

Students and teachers complain about overcrowded classrooms (with classes sometimes reaching 35 students), a shortage of teachers, an absence of substitutes for absent educators, deteriorating infrastructure in many schools, and long school days that sometimes extend until 6:00 PM.

However, what started as educational demands quickly escalated into widespread field confrontations. Classes were disrupted in more than 1,200 high schools during the peak of the protests, while hundreds of schools remained closed in the following days.

The greatest paradox lies in the fact that a movement claiming to defend education found itself accused of shutting down schools and depriving thousands of students of their education.

TikTok: Gen Z's Weapon

While the students of 1968 relied on posters and paper pamphlets, the students of 2026 rely on social media for mobilization and organization.

The French government accuses the leftist La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) movement, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of exploiting the anger within schools and turning it into political leverage. In this context, the young MP Louis Boyard stood out, appearing in videos addressing protesting students outside closed schools, while videos related to the protests amassed millions of views on the TikTok platform.

Conversely, La France Insoumise denies these accusations, asserting that its actions come in support of legitimate student demands.

Why Do They Resort to Violence?

The most pressing question in France today is not why students are protesting, but why part of the protests always turns to violence.

One participant in the protests told a French radio station: "We just want to show our dissatisfaction, and the only way, as history has proven, is violence." In his remarks, he invoked the French Revolution as the most prominent example that radical change came through confrontation, not dialogue.

Le Pen as the Biggest Winner... and Trump Steps In

As usual, the protests do not remain a local affair confined within national borders.

President Trump stepped into the line, accusing immigration and Islam of being behind what France is experiencing! He wrote on Truth Social that what is happening "is not about schools, but about Islam's desire to control a country that was once great"—an arbitrary and strange reading that bypasses the educational and social demands raised by the protesters.

Inside France, the biggest beneficiary of these violent protests appears to be far-right leader Marine Le Pen. The more images of fires, school closures, and clashes with the police escalate, the more the right gains the ability to present itself as the force capable of imposing order and restoring state authority.

Thus, the radical left finds itself in a striking paradox: while trying to leverage youth anger against the government, the outcomes of this rage may ultimately end up strengthening its most dangerous political opponent.

France Between Yesterday and Today

Anyone reviewing French newspaper archives over the past six decades will notice almost the same scene repeating: angry youth, institutions accused of negligence, political parties seeking to exploit the crisis, police confronting the street, and then a new political wave reshaping the balance of power.

The difference this time, however, is that Generation Z does not write its slogans on the walls of the Sorbonne; instead, it broadcasts them live to millions of followers via smartphones.

Despite the changing tools, the question that has accompanied France from the French Revolution until today remains without a decisive answer: Can the Republic resolve its crises through dialogue and institutions, or will the street remain the preferred tool for the French to force the state to listen?

While waiting for an answer, schools continue to burn, students continue to demonstrate, and political forces watch the scene, searching for the votes that will be born from the womb of this anger.