N環球 
Paris Student Protests Take a U-Turn: Court Overturns Ban, Prefecture Confines March to a Static Rally as Metro Stations Close
Paris's administrative court overturned the police prefecture's ban on today's student march at midday; by 4pm a new prefectural order confined it to a static rally outside the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. Multiple metro stations are closed, with more closures after 10pm.
Why it matters
Today's Paris student movement reversed course three times in one day: the prefecture banned the march, the court overturned the ban, and by late afternoon a new prefectural order 'downgraded' the march to a static rally. The campus protest wave that began in late September is testing the French government's handling of school grievances, while widespread metro closures have disrupted commuting across the city.
Full report
On Thursday morning, gendarmes cleared a student blockade in front of Sciences Po on rue Saint-Guillaume in the 7th arrondissement: students sat in chanting 'Solidarity with repressed high-schoolers' before being warned and pushed toward rue de Grenelle. The school had already been blockaded on October 7. This morning's action continues a movement that started in mid-September in several Île-de-France high schools over underfunded schools, unreplaced absent teachers and deteriorating study conditions, demanding €10 billion in investment, the abolition of the Parcoursup admissions platform, and €1 meals for all students; the national high-school coordination also demands the release of arrested youths and the dropping of charges.
Today's march was called by Interfac Île-de-France, the Paris-banlieue high-school coordination, the national student coordination and the national high-school coordination, with departure set for 2pm outside the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in the 13th arrondissement, heading via Gare d'Austerlitz and Gare de Lyon to Place de la Bastille. After the police prefecture banned it under order n°2026-01404, Interfac filed for emergency review (référé), and the Paris administrative court authorized the march at midday — only for the prefecture to issue a new order around 4pm confining the mobilization to a static gathering on boulevard de l'Hôpital.
On transport, RATP closed stations from 10am including Bastille (lines 1, 5, 8), Saint-Paul (line 1), Place d'Italie (lines 5, 6, 7), Campo-Formio, Saint-Marcel, Quai de la Râpée, Gare d'Austerlitz, Bréguet-Sabin (line 5) and Chemin Vert (line 8), with line 10 interrupted between Gare d'Austerlitz and Jussieu; from 10pm, République, Châtelet, Les Halles and Châtelet–Les Halles also closed at the prefecture's request, with partial RER B interruptions. Sortir à Paris notes the gathering ban runs until 6am Friday, but that does not determine when stations reopen — check RATP live information before travelling.
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