Thunberg arrives at the Paul Eluard high school at the heart of the movement in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Published on October 13, 2026
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has joined French student protests as more demonstrations calling for better conditions in educational institutions are expected across the country.
Thunberg arrived Tuesday morning at the Paul Eluard high school, at the heart of the movement in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, and stood among the protesting students.
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“Young people are not included in the conversation. Our future is being stolen from us,” Thunberg told the AFP news agency.
Lawyers in robes had also formed a human chain to protect the teenagers following numerous allegations of police brutality during protests.
The protests began late last month as students demanded improvements on a range of issues, including the condition of school buildings, lack of teachers, busy class schedules and other problems in the education system.
Students piled up trash cans and erected safety barriers outside hundreds of schools across the country.
Last Thursday, more than 70,000 people took to the streets in the last major protest event.
Tuesday’s protest, backed by unions and a left-wing opposition party, France Insoumise, included a march through Paris and marches in other cities. Students gathered outside the gates of several schools in the morning, holding signs and megaphones and chanting slogans, and protests were planned for later in the day.
The university’s student union, the Union, said on X: “They don’t listen to us, so we go to them.”
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said Tuesday morning on France Inter that around 200 schools were closed, “fewer than last week”, adding that some nearby protest routes were closed to avoid damage.
The Ministry of National Education also indicated that eight members of teaching staff were injured on Monday, mainly in the Paris region and in the cities of Bordeaux and Lyon, due to the demonstrations.
On Monday, Léo, a 19-year-old graphic design student in Paris, told AFP that “students are not sufficiently heard… not in their proposals to the authorities and elected officials.”
He added that the protesters, many of whom were minors, were “disturbed by the level of repression never seen before for a student movement.”
Tuesday’s demonstrations in support of students are expected to be followed on Saturday by larger public rallies against the rising cost of living.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at an auto show on Monday that he had urged protesters to show restraint.
“These are questions that deserve time, consultations, discussions and respect,” Macron said.
According to the Justice Ministry, more than 6,800 people, most of them minors, were taken into custody during the protests.
Police also opened investigations into 24 allegations of brutality against protesters.
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