Public Opinion Backs the Movement

Support for the student demonstrations france has seen runs deeper than the school gates, according to a recent opinion poll. It found 55% of respondents backing the demonstrations, while a two-thirds majority agreed with the students' demands on the country's education policy.

The same poll, however, found a public divided on whether the protests should continue - a tension that could shape how long the movement holds together.

• •55% backed the demonstrations
• •A two-thirds majority agreed with the students' demands
• •The public was split on whether the protests should carry on

Students Reject the End-of-Month Promise

Demonstrators dismissed Sébastien Lecornu's promise to present a plan to fix the education system by the end of the month, demanding full engagement sooner rather than a timetable that leaves them waiting.

Among them was a high school student named Marilou in Fontainebleau, who told AFP: "We want real action, and until we get it, we'll keep mobilising."

Lecornu's Televised Address

In a televised address the previous evening, the prime minister said the country could not be "indifferent" to the students' concerns. He acknowledged that their anger "does not come from nowhere."

Despite that acknowledgement, Lecornu made no immediate headline-grabbing announcements - the gap that demonstrators now point to in rejecting his end-of-month timeline for an education system plan.

Ministry Talks and Continued Disruption

French education minister Édouard Geffray has invited the three leading high school students' associations for further talks at the ministry later this afternoon, the next step in the government's engagement with the movement.

Meanwhile, the disruption showed no sign of easing: nearly 400 educational establishments faced disruptions on the morning of 8 October 2026, as French high school protests entered another day.