High school students in working-class neighborhoods across France are expressing their frustration over missed classes and a lack of substitute teachers, with more schools joining the protest. The former head of the national education system, Jean-Paul Delahaye, views this as a natural outcome of a school system that has long neglected its most vulnerable students. This theme is explored in his novel Frapper les pauvres, published in 2025 by Labyrinthe editions. The current situation in Clichy-sous-Bois and a Paris high school, which has not faced similar disruptions, illustrates the inequality Delahaye portrays in his fiction, which now mirrors real-life events. The student movement protesting poor teaching conditions is not unexpected, as the situation in schools serving working-class communities has been worsening. The title of Delahaye's novel, Frapper les pauvres, is inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s phrase "Assommons les pauvres!" The novel questions whether the poor must reach a breaking point before they rise up in protest. Youth from working-class backgrounds are rarely the focus of public discourse, as the school system largely follows the priorities of the middle and privileged classes, often at the expense of others. These students rarely receive media coverage or the attention of policymakers. The lack of solidarity and silence surrounding the demands of working-class children—many of whom simply seek equal treatment from public authorities—is striking. One of the main demands from today’s high school students is the recovery of lost teaching time, which has occurred due to a shortage of teachers and the lack of substitutes. These disruptions are uncommon in schools located in the city center. Delahaye’s novel centers on students at a fictional vocational high school in Clichy-sous-Bois and contrasts their teaching conditions with those of students in a fictional large Paris high school. The book seeks to amplify the voices of those who are often ignored and to highlight the deep inequalities in the education system. Delahaye argues that the growing anger among students and their families should not be surprising, as they are organizing to demand equal rights rather than just equal opportunities. He notes that social progress has never been given freely but has always been fought for and achieved through collective effort.