Several days ago, a strike in schools is preparing at the call of several unions. And as actu.fr had already mentioned, it’s not just a single day of mobilization but a whole week of actions that is taking shape. Teachers across France are invited to mobilize from Monday, March 30 to Friday, April 3, 2026, with a highlight of the strike set for Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Objective: to protest against teacher job cuts and class closures, and demand a wage increase.
What is upsetting the unions?
In a joint statement published on March 20, 2026, the FSU, UnsA Education, CFDT Education Formation et recherches publiques, CGT educ’action, and SUD Education expressed their anger at the «â€‰budgetary choices of the government [which] can only further degrade an already exhausted public education service ».
In the first degree (schools), it is the school zoning that particularly tenses up. This system of assigning students to schools based on their place of residence is a puzzle every year for rectories and municipalities, as actu Tarn points out. For the unions, these are also synonymous with «â€‰thousands of class closures » and therefore «â€‰degradation of working and learning conditions […] in the absence of specific resources ».
In the secondary degree (middle and high schools), «â€‰the back-to-school preparations are well underway » for 2026-2027, the joint trade unions’ press release claims.
Division cuts resulting in increased class size, reduced training offerings, […] blackmailing for resources to maintain skill level groups… School lives are particularly suffocated by the lack of resources that further weaken the school climate in middle and high schools.
Rallies, demonstrations, boycotts of institutions…
Also, in the regions, mobilization is organizing as the week of mobilization and strike on March 31, 2026 approaches.
In Sarthe, the national education unions have a meeting in front of the prefecture, based in Le Mans, starting at 2:30 p.m. In the same city, a rally will also take place on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 12:50 p.m. in front of the Departmental Directorate of National Education Services.
In the Manche region, gatherings are planned on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. in Cherbourg, Saint-Lô, and Avranches. This follows the announcements for the next school year foresee around sixty class closures, as well as the elimination of 15 full-time equivalents in middle schools and nine in general and technological high schools.
« It is unacceptable to demand more and more from staff to address educational difficulties […] and to promote mental health as a «€‰national priority » while at the same time everything is being done to reduce human supervision », denounced the joint trade unions to our editorial team at La Presse de la Manche.
Further down, in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 217 teaching positions are threatened within the academy. The approval of the school zoning (confirming job cuts for first-degree establishments) by the Special Administration Committee, on Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27, 2026, has added fuel to the fire.
In addition to boycotting this Special Administration Committee, all unions in Ille-et-Vilaine have announced their participation in the national strike on March 31, 2026, with a march launching from the Place de la République starting at 10:30 a.m., as reported by actu Rennes.
Parents « ready to engage in visible actions in the coming days »
However, the unions are not the only ones committing to the week of March 30, 2026. Parents of students are also mobilizing to make their voices heard against class closures and the government’s budget policy concerning national education.
In Tarn, for example, local branches of trade union organizations have indicated their participation in the national mobilization day on March 31, 2026, and the parents’ union FCPE has joined the movement. A gathering is scheduled in front of the Departmental Directorate of National Education Services at 10:00 a.m.
« [We are] ready to engage in visible actions in the coming days », warned the parents in Cagnac-les-Mines, as cited by actu Tarn. Furthermore, « letters have been sent » to the Minister of National Education Édouard Geffray and to several local political figures – such as the prefecture, the deputy of Tarn Karen Erodi, and the County Council.
« We do not economize on the future of our children »
Well before the deadline of March 31, parents have been numerous to engage in different regions. This is the case, for example, in Eure, where our local editorial team La Dépêche d’Evreux reported the parents’ mobilization against class closures in seven schools in the city.
« We do not economize on the future of our children who are not sardines. We cannot learn properly when we are crammed together » and when schools turn into « factories », families denounced to our journalists.
Not far away, in Orne, parents from several schools gathered in front of Tinchebray’s public school André-Breton. They aim to raise awareness about threatened classes and the « overcrowding » of others as a result, as reported by our editorial team L’Orne Combattante.
Overcrowded classes mean less individual attention for each student, increased stress and fatigue for teachers, and a deterioration of learning conditions for children. […] The school has nearly 10% of students with severe language disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and autism spectrum disorders acirc;€¦ These most fragile students would be particularly affected.
A petition has been launched online and has garnered hundreds of signatures. Parents can also count on the support of the (new) mayor of the town, Jérôme Nury, who visited the school and met with them in recent days.
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