Protest culture: Why do French students repeatedly rise up?

Home Shows French connections To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: French Connections © FRANCE 24 07:24 Issued on: 08/10/2026 - 16:00 From the show France is in the international spotlight as massive student protests show no sign of stopping. Demonstrating is something of a rite of passage for young people in France, a moment when teenagers discover politics and their collective voice. How has this "protest culture" manifested itself in recent French history? And why are some student protests effective at bringing about change and others not? We take a closer look in French Connections. By: