On Tuesday, March 31, 2026, France’s schools, collèges and lycées are set to be disrupted by the national education strike day. It forms part of a week of mobilisation from March 30 to April 3, 2026, called by a union coalition including the FSU, the UNSA Éducation, the CFDT Éducation, the CGT Éduc'Action and SUD Éducation. Across France, and notably in the Île-de-France, families will have to rearrange their day on short notice.
At the heart of the dispute: the plan to cut 4,018 teaching positions for the 2026 school year, of which 3,256 are in the public sector. Of these, 1,891 affect public kindergartens and primary schools. The government defends the cuts with what it calls a real demographic decline—the primary school will welcome 116,800 fewer students next school year—but unions reject this argument outright. For Aurélie Gagnier, spokesperson for the FSU-Snuipp, the leading union for early-years and primary education, this shortfall should instead be seen as an opportunity to reduce class sizes, rather than diminish the human resources available to public schools.
The inter-union coalition denounces a budget 2026 that, they argue, orchestrates the suffocation of the public education system, pointing to both staff cuts, deteriorating working conditions and a pay freeze. France is already the European Union member with the largest average class size among the OECD, with 22 pupils per class in kindergarten and primary, compared with 19 on the European average. With further job cuts on the horizon, the trend shows no sign of reversing.
The Cour des comptes published an alarming report on the state of écoles primaires françaises, noting a general decline in academic performance and a widening of inequalities. At entry to sixth grade, almost one in three students struggles with French and one in four with mathematics. This context makes, in the view of unions, the decision to remove teachers from areas where needs are already acute even harder to understand.
The Lille academy is the hardest hit, with 245 teaching posts to be cut for the 2026 school year and a risk of 366 class closures. In Paris, 83 positions are being eliminated, with fears of 172 closures. In the Besançon academy, covering Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort, 53 posts are at risk. The situation is particularly paradoxical in the Créteil and Versailles academies, which are already grappling with a chronic teacher shortage: 259 job cuts are planned there, even as a special recruitment competition is held each year due to a lack of candidates.
The Minimum Service for Child Reception (SMA) is being rolled out in municipalities where more than 25% of teachers are participating in the strike, to accommodate children whose teachers are on strike. Disruptions may also affect the school transport and after-school activities, depending on the academy and the municipality. To find out whether your child’s school is affected, check your town hall website, the school's digital workspace, or contact the school's administration directly.
The protest movement does not end with this single day: the inter-union plans actions with the parents' associations, local associations and authorities throughout the week, culminating on Friday, April 3, 2026. The unions aim to influence the 2027 budget decisions, with clear demands: creation of positions, salary increases with no strings attached, and an improvement in working conditions for all staff at the Education Ministry.
