Viva La Résistance: youth-led protests erupt all over France

Since September of 2026, student-led protests have taken over the streets of France. What started as peaceful group protests in the Paris suburbs spread into nationwide unrest, with multiple incidents of violence and mass arrests. Initially, the protests were a response to the lack of funding for the French education system. Students reported cases of severe teacher shortages, dilapidated buildings, and extreme academic stress related to schedules and university applications.The majority of students are part of high school and university student unions. Two of the primary student unions are Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) and Union étudiante (Student Union), both being left-wing high school unions. The USL specifically reported on the “dilapidated lycées,” which went days without proper toilet water and were crowded with cockroaches. These issues soon began to be associated with a general skyrocketing of living costs from high inflation, housing costs, and unemployment, made worse by France’s austerity policies. Soon, the students were joined by teachers, workers, trade unions, and a few political organisations, making up an estimated 575,000 to 1.57 million people across France. 

Despite the large number of youth protesters against political issues as such, the actual voter turnout for young people is staggeringly low. This has been a persistent problem not only for France, but also for most European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and others. However, the number of abstainers seems to be increasing year by year, as there were more of them in the 2022 presidential election compared to the 2017 one. The 2022 election showed that 46% abstained in ages 25 to 34, while 42% abstained in ages 18-24. Their reasoning for abstaining usually leads to a single feeling of helplessness. Interviews with youth abstainers report that there is a general lack of representation of youth among the candidates, making their votes feel useless or ineffective. This effect is worsened by the fact that most presidential elections are now based on tactical voting. This can be seen in the 2022 election as well, where youths felt they were voting for the second worst-case scenario instead of what they truly desire. For some, instead of making the choice, they found it more preferable to abstain.

 Are violent protests the only political outlet for the youth?

Youths also claim to feel too “incompetent” to vote. Though worsening living standards, increasing inflation, and terrible education systems can be understood through lived experience, knowing which political party would be the most competent in solving these issues requires a deeper understanding. Many of the youths are working class and lacking specialised politics knowledge and therefore do not “feel competent politically to give their opinion,” according to Tristan Haute, a political science lecturer at the University of Lille. It is not apathy that drives youths away from voting, but rather the feeling of helplessness perpetuated by a lack of representation as well as knowledge. 

This then raises the question: if voting is not effective, are violent protests the only political outlet for the youth? To this question, the answer would be that even violent protests seem ineffective in making significant institutional changes in their favour. Though it has been two months since the first peaceful and violent protests, the government has yet to respond with actual amendments, despite arson, alleged assaults, vandalism, and so on. Instead, 70,000 police officers were deployed at each protest to make nearly a thousand arrests, including minors, using tear gas and water cannons to control the crowd. There has been frequent criticism of the violent protests from the government, with a strong condemnation of the protests without properly addressing the reasons behind the protesters’ actions. 

In the final few months of his presidency, it seems Macron will stand his ground against the protesters. President Emmanuel Macron spoke out, stating that “violence has no place in a democracy. These acts have nothing to do with expressing demands: they are acts of brutality and intimidation and must be punished with the utmost severity.”His condemning remarks without addressing the underlying issues at hand are only fuelling his declining credibility. France Unbowed, the far-left party, criticised Macron for calling out the protesters for their violence without giving the same treatment to the police. The party leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, said the police acted with a “ferocity [that] is irresponsible with an obvious racist aftertaste” and blamed the protests on Macron’s failure to properly address the economic issues France is facing. The far-right also joined in blaming Macron’s incompetence. Marine Le Pen, the presidential candidate of the far-right National Rally party, stated that Macron’s government was incompetent in controlling the public. It is interesting to see the two political parties on opposite ends of the spectrum both agree that Macron’s response to the protesters is not adequate. 

This response from Macron will only exacerbate the issues people were pleading to be solved. One major problem for the French youth is youth unemployment and high costs of living. However, the French president addressing them as “unjustified” and treating them as criminals will only further push the working class to the margins. Many protesters have sustained “life-altering” injuries due to police brutality that Macron has yet to address, which would worsen the unemployment rate. With Macron’s promise of more “strong measures” against the protests, it seems these issues will continue. 

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