- Oct 10
About 200 French schools close as student protests spread and Greta Thunberg joins
More than 6,600 arrests have been made nationwide since the protests began in September. On Tuesday, 13 October, about 200 schools closed, and Greta Thunberg joined pupils outside a lycée in Saint-Denis.
- Oct 6
French high school protests ease, ministry says, as students plan new blockade Tuesday
The government says the lycéen movement is slowing, with 141 of 3,700 lycées closed on Friday morning. Students and unions plan a new mobilisation on Tuesday 13 October, while the 3,000 replacement teachers promised by Édouard Geffray are due to be assigned early next week.
- Oct 3
French student loses hand in Lens grenade blast as school protests spread
A 15-year-old student lost his hand to a police stun grenade in Lens on 5 October, as nationwide demonstrations over school conditions led to 400 school closures and hundreds of injuries.
- Sep 8
OECD PISA 2025 report shows global decline in student reading and math skills
The OECD released its latest PISA survey covering 91 countries, recording average drops of 14 points in reading and 9 points in mathematics among 15-year-old students.
- Jun 26
Spain records 212 heat-linked deaths as June temperatures shatter records; 3,500 schools close in France
An estimated 212 excess deaths in Spain between Sunday and Wednesday are attributed to a record-breaking heatwave, with the government’s MoMo monitoring system flagging a significant spike in mortality. France closed 3,500 schools and adjusted schedules for 10,000 more as the sweltering temperatures also hit the country.
- Jun 21
France bans outdoor alcohol and closes 845 schools as extreme heatwave puts one-third of country on red alert
France declared a red heat alert for 35 departments on Sunday and banned alcohol consumption in public spaces during the Fête de la Musique festival, as a heatwave of exceptional intensity sweeps across Europe.
- Jun 21
France to launch automatic alerts for pupils who vanish from school after boy held captive in van for a year
France’s education minister has announced an automated system to flag children who leave a school without re-enrolling elsewhere, responding to the discovery of a 9-year-old boy held starving and naked in a van for nearly a year.
- Jun 14
French education minister pushes to ban afternoon exams as heatwave strikes baccalaureate week
Ahead of the baccalaureate written exams starting Monday, Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced he wants to end all afternoon exams, pointing to intensifying heat episodes that regularly push classroom temperatures above 30 °C.
- Jun 11
Bac français 2026 : Rimbaud, Ponge et Dorion au menu des 530 000 élèves de première, l'orthographe sous surveillance
Some 530,000 French high school students sat the anticipated French baccalaureate exam on Thursday, tackling authors from Rimbaud to Louise d'Épinay, while the education minister demanded stricter grading on spelling and grammar.
- May 28
Western Europe swelters under record-breaking May heatwave as Italy declares red alert and France faces political backlash
A precocious 'heat dome' from North Africa has shattered May temperature records in Portugal and France, prompting Italy to issue its highest-level red alert for Rome and four other cities.
