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French students blocked the Louvre to support high school students’ protests and denounce “police repression”

Cristina Petrache

19 October 2026, 14:46

International

Foto Prezat Denis/ABACA / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

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Approximately 50 students from the École du Louvre blocked tourist access to the Louvre Museum during a peaceful protest held in Paris. The demonstrators expressed their support for the high school students’ movement and denounced what they call “police repression,” according to AFP.

The action prompted the museum’s management to close the institution for several hours to avoid possible incidents. The students displayed a leaflet reading: “We are proud to announce that we are blocking the largest museum in the world.”

The Louvre’s management said the protest was not directly related to the museum, but that the institution was being used as a “sounding board” for the participants’ demands. The CGT union supports the action without taking part in it, placing it within the wave of high school student protests that began in mid-September.

The mobilization took place two days after a major nationwide day of protests against the high cost of living, demonstrations that degenerated into violence in several cities across France and also affected the Paris Stock Exchange. The students say their struggle concerns the right to study, work and live freely, in good conditions.

الت,

Context: in France, student protests have expanded since the beginning of the month and have come to block hundreds of high schools

In France, the movement began around September 21 in high schools in the Paris region and subsequently spread to almost all regions. Authorities reported arson and serious incidents, including a fire at a high school in Nantes, while in Marseille a principal was doused with gasoline, and attacks were also reported against institutions and emergency response crews.

Against the backdrop of the blockades, between 400 and 500 high schools experienced total or partial closures, and the government responded with measures such as sending substitute teachers to the affected schools, suspending the use of certain devices used in confrontations, and organizing a consultation platform for high school students, along with online classes where access to schools is blocked. In parallel, there were thousands of detentions and hundreds of people injured, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened a crisis unit at the Ministry of the Interior.