France's Education Budget Shrinks 20% as 410,000 Protest
Student demonstrations in Paris and across the country coincide with a major drop in public funding for schools and universities since 2017.
By Rafael Collins ·
French students faced reduced resources and higher costs during a nationwide protest on Saturday. The Ministry of Interior reported that 410,000 people took to the streets, with 110,000 gathering in Paris alone. The demonstrations continued a series of actions that began in mid-September over deteriorating school conditions and government spending plans.
Protesters cited overcrowded classrooms, where 32 to 35 students often share a room, as a primary grievance. They also pointed to unreplaced teacher vacancies and aging infrastructure. Amed Snoussi, a journalist and former parliamentary assistant, described the state of public high schools as dire. He noted that students study in cold, dirty buildings, some infested with rats, while absent teachers go unreplaced for months.
The financial strain on education is documented in recent economic data. Lucas Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab, stated that the public budget for higher education, student life, and research has decreased by 20 percent since 2017 when adjusted for inflation. This cut comes as the government prepares a 54 billion euro package of cost-cutting measures for the 2027 budget, which includes salary freezes for civil servants.
Teacher salaries have become a focal point of the dispute. French teachers earn a gross annual salary of 41,968 euros, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In comparison, their German counterparts earn 69,453 euros. Social taxes and pension contributions further reduce the monthly income of educators in France, prompting teachers to join the student-led marches.
President Emmanuel Macron met with student representatives for the first time on Friday to address the crisis. The meeting did not resolve tensions, as student leaders called for concrete government actions before de-escalating. Macron stated during a visit to Marseille on Monday that he has asked his cabinet to address the root causes of the protest movement. The government is also expected to announce changes to Parcoursup, the national university admissions platform.
The fiscal constraints driving these cuts are evident in national debt figures. France's national debt has reached approximately 3.6 trillion euros, equivalent to 119 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The deficit is forecast to hit 5.4 percent of GDP in 2026, a figure well above the European Union average of just over 3 percent. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu acknowledged the public anger in an address on October 7, promising a plan to address the crisis by the end of October.
Economists point to structural issues in wealth distribution and growth. Thomas Piketty, a French economist, noted that while public debt has risen, private wealth has grown to 600 percent of GDP, concentrated among the wealthiest. He argued that reinvesting in education and health would help the economy produce greater output with fewer resources. Antonio Fatas, a professor at INSEAD, added that France faces political paralysis in reform decisions, limiting the government's ability to adjust spending priorities effectively.
