French student protests meet bond-market pressure over public debt

Mixed · 2Student protests over school staffing and resources have spread across France since 21 September, when they began at Saint-Exupéry high school in a Parisian suburb. They coincide with investor concern over French public finances. 1 2 Right · 1Reason reported that 141 schools remained closed on Friday and that the protests had become increasingly violent. It said a 15-year-old boy had his hand blown off outside a high school in Lens and a head teacher was doused in gasoline. 1 Left · 1The Guardian reported that France's debt-to-GDP ratio was 115.6% in 2025 and its budget deficit 5.1%, with the deficit set to rise to 5.4% this year. The finance minister, Roland Lescure, has promised to cut it but has not said how. 2

Left · 1Last week the yield on 10-year French bonds reached its highest level since July 2002, just short of 5%. The Guardian said Japanese investors had contributed to the sell-off. 2 Left · 1A Medef survey found 82% of firms pessimistic about the next government's economic policy, and 66% said their business would become vulnerable or go bankrupt if policy stayed deadlocked for five years. The Guardian said eurozone finance ministers and ECB officials had urged Paris to devise a budget that can win a parliamentary majority. Banque de France governor Emmanuel Moulin denied France needed ECB help, adding "not at this point". 2 Left · 1Political uncertainty is a major theme in the Guardian's account. It cited Fathom Consulting's Erik Britton saying a likely April runoff between Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon has spooked investors more than the deficit. Le Pen promises to restore the retirement age of 62 and also to introduce a "debt brake" by referendum, which historian Laurent Warlouzet called an improbable fiscal-hawk stance. Insead's Antonio Fatas said some parties want a crisis in the belief it will improve their share of the vote. 2

Mixed · 2The two outlets differ on school funding. The Guardian said French schools are better funded than the OECD average. Reason said France already spends more per student than some top-performing systems while results decline, with more than one in three 15-year-olds failing to reach basic maths proficiency, and it cited the OECD's view that there is "room for efficiency gains". 2 1 Right · 1Reason, in an opinion piece, argued that the protests, like Spanish housing protests that led Pedro Sánchez to call a snap election, demand more government when government failure is the cause. It said the answer lies in school autonomy, citing Nicolas Marques of the Institut économique Molinari, and that France's pension spending of roughly 14% of GDP and a 5.8% deficit in 2024 limit fiscal room. 1 Left · 1The Guardian said Macron's plan to raise the pension age from 62 to 64 stalled, and that a bailout would be very costly. It cited Paul Krugman saying France may be "too big to save" and Société Générale's Albert Edwards saying bond investors' attention may roll to other markets. 2