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Learning English from the News

Upper intermediate level

French student protests

Episode 261007 / 07 Oct 2026

(Photo by Muhammed Said Tako/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The story

School pupils in France have been taking part in protests against the government.

Pupils say that they are protesting because their schools are not being well funded. They say that there are not enough teachers and that school buildings are in bad conditions. The French government has said that it will review the issues that students are protesting about.

Since protests began, over 6,000 people have been arrested and a number of students and police officers have been hurt.

News headlines 

Student protests grip France as Prime Minister Lecornu calls crisis meeting
PBS

Inside the school protests in France that have spiralled into arson and street violence
The Irish Times

France to shutter up to 500 schools as more student protests called
Al Jazeera

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Key words and phrases

grip
hold on to people's attention

  • The country was gripped by excitement after their team reached the final for the first time.

spiral
get worse, often in an uncontrolled way

  • House prices have been spiralling recently. They're becoming unaffordable.

shutter
close something, often temporarily

  • The city was quiet as many of the businesses had been shuttered for the holidays.

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