Student protests in France and mobilizations in Italy: demands and security

The student mobilization in France started last September 21st at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil, in the Val-de-Marne department. Students were protesting against a shortage of teachers, overcrowded classes, the conditions of school buildings and difficulties in accessing university. In a few days the mobilization spread nationwide with hundreds of institutions involved throughout France.

The protests then resulted in incidents and episodes of tension and violence. Fires, objects thrown at police, damage and clashes occurred in several cities, including Nantes, Strasbourg, Le Havre, Marseille and Toulouse. Some institutions were damaged and in several cases the firefighters intervened. In recent hours in Paris a police car was the target of stones and objects being thrown, while a tram was targeted while it was circulating. French Education Minister Édouard Geffray defined the initial reasons for the protest as "legitimate", but claimed that the movement was later infiltrated or exploited by radical political groups.

Students are demanding better teaching conditions and more resources for schools. In fact, the demands concern various topics: more teachers and school staff, less crowded classes, buildings in better conditions, less demanding timetables and more resources for public education. And then there is the issue of Parcoursup, the platform through which French students submit applications for higher education, considered by many young people to be a source of strong pressure and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, French student unions have launched an appeal to continue the mobilization, in the absence of "concrete measures" from the government. The Union syndicale lycéenne (USL) called for "the demonstrations to continue". A new day of national mobilization is scheduled for Tuesday 6 October in France, which will also include the CGT and Solidaires unions, as declared by the president of the USL, Ryad Rani.

But what happens in Italy? In recent days the National Committee for Public Order and Security, chaired by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, decided to further strengthen the security devices for scheduled events. In addition to the demonstrations planned for the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on 7 October - both to commemorate the Israeli victims and various pro-PAL initiatives - and for the increase in the price of fuel, the student protests which are calling together boys and girls from North to South have now also come under the microscope.

A first event is planned today in Genoa with a "national and international operational" assembly that sees them next to the port washers. "Solidarity with French students in struggle", announced by Changing Course. "What is happening reconfirms that the alliance between students, young people and workers is a concrete and successful necessity in the face of a model that places the cost of rearmament on young people, the working class and popular groups, while fundamental resources for training and welfare are cut", they reiterated. They also take to the streets today in Rome, in Bocca della Verità, against the electoral law.

In the meantime, even in the courtyard of Federico II in Naples and in Turin, students are preparing to mobilize to turn the spotlight on the issue of high rents. The Lazio middle school students' network, which in recent days had protested against the school decree and participated in the sit-in launched by Mediterranea Saving Humans and Spin Time in Piazza Montecitorio on Thursday, assured that the mobilization will continue in schools and squares on 17 October and 20 November.

Students take to the streets throughout Italy until November 20th, in solidarity with French students and "against military conscription and warmongering propaganda in Germany". This is what the Student Network announces. "To all the strikers in France: we are at your side. We will desert their wars. Money for schools, not for weapons", states the Network. "In France, as in Italy, there is a contradiction that we refuse not to tackle: while tight budgets are cited as the reason for cuts in education, welfare and healthcare, at the same time enormous sums are allocated for military rearmament", they remarked.

The Italian Students' Network then explained: "Students in France have been on strike for days due to the shortage of teachers, dilapidated school buildings and overcrowded classrooms." And again: "In France, according to the French Ministry of Defense, the defense budget for 2026 amounts to 68.4 billion euros - 6.7 billion more than the previous year - while governments are implementing harsh austerity measures on the backs of workers, young people, students and students. We will not accept all of this."