Student movement expands

In the autumn of 2026, high school students in France were joined by trade unions and later by university students in a growing protest movement. The movement has not yet reached the scale of the famous May 1968 protests, but the timing, just before the presidential elections, has sparked new possibilities for change.

Architecture students join the protests

A report on the mobilization of "future architects" at ENSA Paris-La Villette was broadcast on France Info on October 9. The initial title of the report was "Architecture students join the high school movement," highlighting the participation of architecture students in the broader protest.

Preparation for demonstration

A 1.49-minute segment showed how the students were preparing to join the demonstration on Thursday, October 8, 2026, the fourth act of the movement, at the Bastille. The video included views of the school, showing a courtyard where a workshop for making demonstration banners was taking place and students drawing slogans on cardboard placed on platforms.

Safety and education concerns

Inside the school, in a deserted staircase, a student guided the camera toward "a round table." In a well-organized workshop, a young woman outlined recommendations for protecting oneself from gases and ensuring safety in front of a few people. An interview with a young man discussed the material conditions of his education, facilities, teachers, and number of students per studio, noting that everything was "within the norm."

Contrast with media coverage

The segment was later posted online under the revised title "future architects of Belleville take to the streets." The atmosphere of the video was relaxed, with calmness from the students and peaceful images of the demonstration. A final voice-over commentary by the journalist over images of a peaceful march accompanied by music described how the architecture students eventually joined the high school students at the Place de la République, noting a "festive air in their anger."

Challenging the public perception

The video contrasted with the violent media coverage broadcast on air and online for two weeks. It may have been an attempt to present a calmed student reality at the heart of this tense moment. The revelation of this reality in an architecture school continues to be surprising.

Education and future practice

The general public's indifference toward the discipline of architecture should not fail to alert students about the nature and conditions of their education and, particularly, their future practice. The growing and evident ignorance of students about the profession of architect says something about the quality of what is being transmitted to them.

Challenges in the profession

The enthusiasm of graduates for other functions in other worlds than those of architecture and urbanism does not hide a difficulty in sharing and transmitting the social (and political, but let's not complicate things) commitment of a practicing architect. The difficult living conditions of young architects after a baccalaureate plus five or six years should not be a lasting warning signal.

Systemic issues in education

The opposition to all projects by NIMBYs, urban or rural, is not an indication of a serious loss of relevance of the intentions of architecture and its teaching. When the annual means allocated to the education of an architecture student are 30 to 40 percent less than those of an engineering student. When teaching practitioners are forced to be doctoral students and become doctors to exit the top of a career limited to a maximum of nine years of contract work.

Institutional challenges

When 70 percent of architecture teachers are recruited as teaching researchers with a doctorate. When the remaining 30 percent cannot be satisfied with these nine years of teaching and recognized professional experience to apply. When schools depend on the Ministry of Culture and teaching is constrained by the university model of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Space.

Lack of political attention

When this dual oversight does not seem to concern any of the recent ministers of culture. When the upcoming presidential election will not be an opportunity to raise these questions. Should we be satisfied with an architecture school within "the norm"?