Updated Tuesday 13 October 2026, 10:30 AM ET. Figures come from French ministries, prosecutors and prefectures first, then unions and news outlets. Government and union counts are always shown separately. Read the latest: France student protests, Act V.
Key figures
Current status
Ongoing, with fewer school closures. Act V took place on 13 October. The Education Ministry says about 200 lycées were closed (94.2% open), down from 800 on 6 October, and calls it a “receding tide”. Students want a €10 billion plan for lycées and want Parcoursup scrapped. PM Sébastien Lecornu has promised first decisions by the end of October. Stun grenades remain suspended at student protests. Turnout and arrest totals for Act V are pending.
Charts
Turnout on national march days: two counts
Interior Ministry Organisers / CGT
No national turnout count was published for Acts I and II, which were mostly blockades outside schools. The Act V count is pending.
Arrests per day (Interior Ministry, via 20 Minutes and CNews)
Daily figures as reported. Days missing from the list had no published count. Cumulative: 6,629 arrests by 6 Oct evening (Nuñez).
Lycées closed (Education Ministry)
Out of about 3,700 lycées. The 2 Oct figure is approximate.
Timeline since the start
- 17 Sep First mobilisation at Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, outside Paris, over teacher shortages and run-down buildings. (actu Paris)
- 29 Sep Act I: blockades spread nationwide; more than 400 detained, many of them minors. (Al Jazeera)
- 30 Sep Matignon says intelligence services point to an operation by La France Insoumise (LFI) and the ultra-left; LFI rejects this. (Le Monde (English))
- 1 Oct Act II: the Interior Ministry reports 1,949 arrests in a day, 305 officers injured and 1,027 of about 3,700 lycées affected. (CNews)
- 6 Oct Act III, the largest march so far: 266,000 marchers by the Interior Ministry's count, 450,000 by the organisers'. (Le Monde live)
- 7 Oct Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez suspends stun grenades for the student protests after a 15-year-old lost a hand. PM Sébastien Lecornu announces five work streams, with first decisions due at the end of October. (La Libre (AFP) TF1 Info)
- 8 Oct Act IV: 71,500 marchers by the ministry's count, 130,000 by the CGT's. Education Minister Édouard Geffray announces 3,000 replacement teachers. (RFI LCP)
- 9 Oct The Justice Ministry reports 6,877 people taken into police custody since the start, 5,890 of them minors. (ICI (France Bleu))
- 12 Oct The Paris prosecutor reports 273 people held in custody in Paris and 8 police-conduct inquiries. President Emmanuel Macron calls for calm, order and respect for people and property. (actu Paris La Croix live)
- 13 Oct Act V: about 200 lycées closed and 94.2% open, per the Education Ministry. Marches in Paris, Marseille and Nantes; teachers' strike in some schools. (actu.fr live La Croix live)
Protest days table
| Date | Day | Turnout: Interior Ministry | Turnout: organisers | Arrests that day | Officers injured | Lycées closed | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 29 Sep | Act I | – | – | 400+ | 48 | – | Al Jazeera |
| Wed 30 Sep | Weekday blockades | – | – | 625 | – | – | 20 Minutes |
| Thu 1 Oct | Act II | – | – | 1,949 | 305 | – | CNews Le Monde (English) |
| Fri 2 Oct | Weekday blockades | – | – | 1,747 | – | about 400 | 20 Minutes |
| Mon 5 Oct | Weekday blockades | – | – | 984 (by 6 PM) | – | – | 20 Minutes |
| Tue 6 Oct | Act III | 266,000 | 450,000 (youth unions; CGT endorsed) | 488 | 43 | 800 | Le Monde live France 24 actu.fr live |
| Thu 8 Oct | Act IV | 71,500 | 130,000 (CGT) | 504 | 48 | 224 | RFI RTL live |
| Mon 12 Oct | Weekday blockades | – | – | – | – | 130 | RTL live |
| Tue 13 Oct | Act V | – | – | – | – | 214 | actu.fr live La Croix live |
– means no figure was published, or none was found from an official or major outlet. Scroll sideways on phones.
What the protesters want
The movement began over overcrowded classes, teachers who are absent and not replaced, and run-down buildings, according to students quoted by Al Jazeera. The youth unions now demand a €10 billion plan for lycées and an end to Parcoursup. For background on the first week and the separate Islamism debate, see France Unrest Explained. Other countries are covered in the Protest Tracker.
Method and how to read the numbers
Arrests (interpellations) are Interior Ministry counts. Custody (garde à vue) figures are Justice Ministry counts and are higher because they are compiled later and from a wider base. Turnout: the Interior Ministry counts marchers in processions. Organisers and the CGT use their own methods, and neither side is independently audited. Injury counts come from different ministries on different dates and should not be added together. When two official figures differ, the more recent consolidated one is shown.
All sources
- Le Monde live, 6 Oct (Interior Ministry and organisers' figures)
- France 24, 6 Oct
- RFI, 8 Oct (Interior Ministry figures)
- RTL live, 13 Oct (CGT and Education Ministry figures)
- Le Monde (English), 2 Oct
- CNews, 1 Oct (Interior Ministry figures)
- 20 Minutes, 7 Oct (daily arrest series)
- La Libre (AFP), 7 Oct: Nuñez before the National Assembly
- TF1 Info, 7 Oct: Lecornu's address
- Le Monde live, 7 Oct
- LCP, 8 Oct: Geffray's emergency plan
- ICI (France Bleu), 9 Oct: Justice Ministry figures
- actu Paris, 12 Oct: Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau
- actu Paris, 13 Oct
- actu Essonne, 13 Oct: Essonne prefecture
- actu.fr live, 13 Oct (Education Ministry figures)
- La Croix live, 13 Oct
- AFP, 13 Oct
- Al Jazeera, 30 Sep
- Le JDD, 8 Oct (Interior Ministry statement)
