France’s New Protest Generation Rises By Andrew Firmin Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

France’s New Protest Generation Rises By Andrew Firmin LONDON, Oct 26 2026 (IPS) - Classrooms with mouldy walls, riddled with cockroaches and rats, stifling in summer and freezing in winter: this is how French high school students describe the places where they’re meant to learn. These impossible-to-ignore symbols of underfunding and neglect sparked a protest movement that has shaken the country. Students’ complaints centre on underfunding, teacher shortages, crumbling infrastructure, crowded classrooms and an opaque university admissions system. These matter in their own right and raise broader questions about whose interests economies and governments serve, and what futures people can look forward to. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/frances-new-protest-generation-rises/ Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -