France: Student Protests Meet Fiscal Limits
The French government faces a 5.4 percent budget deficit while protesters demand school funding and higher teacher pay.
By Ivan Mori ·
French students are back in the streets.
The Ministry of Interior counted 410,000 protesters nationwide on Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris. The demonstrations began in mid-September when high school students blockaded campuses. Classrooms often hold 32 to 35 pupils, buildings need repair, and absent teachers go unreplaced for months. Teachers have joined the walkouts. The OECD's Education at a Glance 2026 report puts the average gross salary for a French teacher at 41,968 euros, or $46,900. A German counterpart earns 69,453 euros, or $77,700.
The protests started over school conditions and grew into a fight over the 2027 budget. The government proposes 54 billion euros, or $60 billion, in cost cuts and tax measures. The plan includes a freeze on civil servant salaries. President Emmanuel Macron met student representatives for the first time on Friday. The meeting did not settle anything. Student leaders called for more mobilization until the government offers concrete steps. Macron said on Monday in Marseille that he has "asked the government to address the legitimate demands at the root of this protest movement".
The budget picture is tight. France carries about 3.6 trillion euros in debt, or $4 trillion, which equals 119 percent of GDP. The deficit is set to hit 5.4 percent of GDP in 2026, above the European Union ceiling of 3 percent. Public spending takes up 57 percent of GDP, and pensions alone take 14 percent. A government report reviewed by Reuters found nearly one third of some ministry budgets goes to retired civil servant pensions. Lucas Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab, reports that inflation-adjusted spending per student on higher education, student life and research has fallen 20 percent since 2017.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu told the nation on October 7 that "the anger among young people didn't come out of nowhere". He promised a plan by the end of October. The government has also deployed police and imposed curfews. Reports in French media say changes to Parcoursup, the national university admissions platform, are coming.
The question of who holds the money sits underneath the dispute. An OFCE review from January 2026 found people aged 60 and older, a quarter of the population, own 60 percent of national wealth. Economist Thomas Piketty writes that private wealth has grown from 300 percent to 600 percent of GDP, with concentration at the top. Antonio Fatas, a professor of economics at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, points to slow growth. "France's growth has been limited for years," he said. He added that "France faces a political paralysis when it comes to reform decisions".
