November 2, 2026 editorial of the New Anticapitalist Party-Revolutionaries (NPA-R) in France, translated from French.
On Saturday, October 31, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators once again took to the streets in every major city across the country, despite the government’s bans on certain routes and threats. It has been over a month—including school breaks—since high school and college students began this struggle, determined to win their demands. They will resume blockades of their schools with renewed vigor and are calling on everyone to join them by demonstrating alongside them starting Tuesday, November 3.
Unprecedented repression that shows the fear of a government that is as hated as it is discredited
Nuñez, the Minister of the Interior, loudly proclaims his full support for the police forces, whom he sends to tear gas, blind, and maim high school students. As for [Prime Minister] Lecornu, he is meeting with high school and college student unions. In an attempt to quell the anger before November 5, he is offering up crumbs: 15,000 university spots, when hundreds of thousands are needed; a revamp of Parcoursup (the government’s higher education entry portal) but not an end to social sorting (tracking); 500 high school teaching positions, even though thousands have been cut; 28 students per class in 10th grade, but how many in 11th and 12th grades? Not to mention low-interest loans for local governments, which will thus be allowed to go into debt to renovate school buildings!
These announcements were immediately denounced as insufficient by all the young people involved in the protests. But they also encouraged them to intensify the struggle: this government had nothing to offer but austerity, and now it’s announcing it’s opening its wallet!
A struggle that is spreading throughout the country… and internationally
Because the government’s real problem is that the demands of high school and college students—which originated in the most working-class neighborhoods—echo those of the working world. The Saturday protests were launched in response to the high cost of living. Our wages are melting away like snow in the sun in the face of rising food, fuel, and housing costs. Public services are being sacrificed—not only education, but also healthcare, public transportation, and everything that serves the public—so that billions in subsidies can be poured into large corporations and shareholders. It is this social anger that has been expressed three Saturdays in a row.
This anger is spreading beyond national borders. In Germany, tens of thousands of young people demonstrated on October 31 against the high cost of living, budget cuts to public services, and the return of mandatory military service. In Italy, a general strike took place on October 30: demonstrations bringing together hundreds of thousands of people—including high school students, college students, retirees, and workers from many sectors—centered on the same concerns as in France and Germany. Workers at Italian ports blocked the docks, mobilizing against arms exports.
Young people have opened a breach: it is up to workers to widen it through a general strike
The government and the far right are in agreement in calling for a return “to order” while simultaneously stoking racism. There is now no doubt that the Islamophobic attack in Trappes is a direct consequence of this hate speech. In contrast to these attempts at diversion, young people are highlighting the real issues: living, not merely surviving; being able to find housing; having access to public services worthy of the name; and refusing to resign themselves to the race for billions by a wealthy minority and the rise of militarism.
On November 5, the labor federations are finally calling on workers in all sectors to go on strike and mobilize: yes, it is time to join the movement, knowing that we must organize at the grassroots level so that this day marks the beginning of a sustained, broad-based movement, leading toward a general strike.
