Paris (France) (AFP) – Hashtags, shared videos and private messaging loops... Social networks played a catalytic role in the high school student movement, believes sociologist Valérie Becquet, in an interview with AFP.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 18:14

Co-author of “Geopolitics of Youth” (ed. Cavalier bleu, 2024), she explains how TikTok and Snapchat are part of a “panoply of tools” allowing high school students to unite and express their points of view.

The movement started on September 17 at the Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil, in support of teachers on strike against the lack of staff and resources. It then gained momentum and gradually spread across the country this week, with hundreds of establishments disrupted.

Question: What pushed the high school students to mobilize?

A: They denounce the conditions of teaching, studies, training, but also the lack of teaching staff. High school students, particularly those from working-class neighborhoods, have the feeling of being under-educated. There are extremely significant inequities between different students and establishments and this is a real problem. We also talk about Parcoursup, this machine which produces and reinforces certain inequalities.

The use of the blockade is a protest tool that is not new. Students use the full range of tools available: signs with slogans, the blockade and social networks.

Q: The blockages gave a sense of spontaneity...

A: I think this is due to the fact that the mobilization was not initiated by a high school union organization, for example. It remains a movement that starts from the bottom. What we were able to observe is a domino effect: one establishment, two establishments and others who take over in support or by recognizing themselves in what is said.

We also see the acceleration effects with social networks: “we too want to be part of this mobilization”. There is also a reactionary, emotional, solidarity dimension... The high school students feel concerned. And that's how it takes over in different places and creates a movement.

Q: What role did social media play?

A: At the beginning, they allow mobilization. We use hashtags to show, mobilize, publicize, so that more and more establishments join the movement.

Then, there is a form of structuring. The fact of discussing (in discussion groups), of sharing our experiences... we are already in a movement that is being organized. High school students were born with social networks and put practices and uses that are already present in their daily lives at the service of the movement.

With social networks, they can offer a different story than that offered in traditional media, a story that is not constructed: you turn on your phone, you make a video, you post it. There is no intermediary, no editorial conference, it's direct.

Q: Some have seen an instrumentalization of LFI. What do you think?

A: Young people do not need LFI at all to mobilize. I find these accusations very insulting, but I've been hearing them for 25 years! When high school students or students mobilize, there are systematically arguments of disqualification which make the relevance of the movement and the demands invisible.

It's a very adultist view of what it means to be politicized and considering that you have to be an adult to be so. This reflects the existence of relationships of domination between young people and adults.

“Politicized” also means having an interest in the political field in the broad sense, including social, environmental issues, etc. This does not imply being left or right, or even being part of a political party.

© 2026 AFP

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