The Paris Protests: from high schools to the streets – ChangeMakers Digest
Mobilising, Violence, Organisation – mass protest dilemmas
You can download this episode on the ChangeMakers Podcast Channel via the ACAST app here, or find it on any podcast app (Spotify, Apple, Stitcher etc) – just search “ChangeMakers Podcast” and look for the Orange Box!
On 1 September 2026, students at Saint Expuery High School began protesting the conditions they were learning under. Within two weeks, more than 1000 students were protesting, by mid October protests filled the streets of Paris and beyond.
The protests were met by a violent police response, and small groups of masked protesters then began burning cars and buidlings.
In the digest we try to make sense of what happened, to think about the strengths and limits of mobilising, the role of organisation, and the link between these protests and the French elections due in 7 months time.
Photo credit – Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP / Getty
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