As high school student protests spread and several rallies were marred by disturbances, Ifop conducted a survey for LCI to gauge the French public’s views on this movement. Conducted on October 6 and 7, 2026, with a sample of 1,000 people, the survey reveals divided opinion: genuine but minority support, overshadowed by concern, and a clear condemnation of the violence, the responsibility for which is the subject of sharp partisan disagreement.
The movement primarily evokes negative feelings. Concern is by far the dominant sentiment (cited by 60% of the French public and the primary feeling expressed by 34% of them), ahead of incomprehension (40%) and anger (38%). Hope (30%) and pride (18%) remain in the minority among the general population, but are prevalent among younger people (52% hope and 38% pride among 18- to 24-year-olds) and on the left, particularly among supporters of La France insoumise (66% hope, 72% feel pride).
In total, 48% of French people support the movement or feel sympathetic toward it (27% support it, 21% are sympathetic), 17% are indifferent, and 35% oppose it. Support thus remains significantly lower than during the mobilization against the 2023 pension reform (57%). It is also highly polarized: overwhelming on the left (82%, up to 92% among LFI supporters) and among young people (74% of 18- to 24-year-olds), but drops to 31% among RN supporters and 19% among LR supporters.
Regarding the riots, the French hold several parties equally responsible. “Certain high school students” (deemed responsible by 78% of the French public) and the government (78%) top the list, ahead of La France insoumise (71%) and, far behind, the police (40%). These assessments reflect partisan divides: 93% of Renaissance supporters, 88% of RN supporters, and 87% of LR supporters hold La France insoumise responsible, but only 10% of LFI supporters do; conversely, 86% of LFI supporters hold the police responsible, compared with 15% of Renaissance supporters.
Finally, the use of violence to advance one’s ideas continues to be rejected by a large majority of French people: 68% disapprove of it, while 32% admit that “sometimes” a certain degree of violence is necessary—a level slightly lower than that recorded during the movement against pension reform in 2023 (35%). This acceptance is higher among young people (44% of 18- to 24-year-olds) and on the left (64% among LFI supporters).
The high school student movement thus enjoys genuine but minority support that is highly polarized, against a backdrop of widespread concern and condemnation of the violence, the attribution of which deeply divides society along partisan lines.
