Political analyst Alexey Chikhachev says protests over school conditions could complicate the prospects of Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.
In comments to Lenta.ru, Chikhachev linked the risks facing the former prime ministers to their positioning as potential successors to Emmanuel Macron. He said it would be difficult for them to distance themselves from the president’s unpopular legacy as tensions rise. Chikhachev is an associate professor in European Studies at St Petersburg State University and a leading expert at HSE University’s Institute for Military and World Economy and Strategy.
The protests began on September 17 in Creteil, a suburb of Paris, where students and teachers called for more school funding. Organisers announced nationwide demonstrations on September 29. More than 250,000 people joined the largest rallies on October 6, according to government figures cited by The Associated Press.
The protests included school blockades and clashes in some places. Around 900 educational institutions had full or partial class suspensions during the peak of the demonstrations, according to figures from France’s Education Ministry cited by El País.