Inside France's Education Budget: How School Spending Compares Across Europe Amid Nationwide Protests

Riot police recently used a water cannon against protesting students in Rennes, western France, on October 6, 2026, amid ongoing demonstrations over underresourced schools. French high school students have been protesting for more than two weeks regarding conditions such as overcrowded classrooms and staff shortages, with no sign of stopping. The unrest began on September 21 when pupils blockaded a school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, spreading nationwide within a week and leading to violent clashes with police. On September 29, the demonstrations aligned with a nationwide public sector strike as teachers joined other state workers to protest a proposed pay freeze, resulting in more than 6,100 arrests.

As the government faces pressure to rein in spending amid rising national debt, Al Jazeera examines France's education investments compared with the rest of Europe, healthcare, and defence.

How much does France spend on schooling?

Data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, indicates that France's public spending on education reaches 5.1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), excluding private spending like family school fees. The French Ministry of National Education utilizes a broader measure known as domestic expenditure on education, incorporating all funding sources from the state, local authorities, businesses, and households. This measure covers teaching, adult and continuing training, and associated costs like school meals, boarding, and transport.

Using this definition, France spent 199.2 billion euros ($223bn) on education in 2025, which equals 6.7 percent of its GDP and represents an increase of 2.4 billion euros compared to 2024 figures from the ministry. Although spending has more than doubled since 1980 even after inflation adjustments, economic growth has left education spending's share of GDP lower than it was in the mid-1990s. The National Education Ministry notes that secondary education accounts for the largest share at 73.7 billion euros (37 percent), followed by primary education at 60 billion euros (30 percent), higher education at 45.6 billion euros (23 percent), and adult and continuing education at 19.7 billion euros (10 percent).

How much do other European countries spend on education?

Eurostat figures show Sweden leading European nations by spending 7.3 percent of its GDP on education in 2024, followed by Iceland at 7 percent, and Belgium, Estonia, and Finland each allocating 6.3 percent. Conversely, the lowest spenders include Ireland at 2.7 percent, Greece at 3.9 percent, Romania and Italy at 4 percent each, and the United Kingdom and Spain at 4.1 percent each. France's 5.1 percent puts it in joint 13th place alongside the Netherlands and Slovakia, remaining above the EU average of 4.8 percent.

Despite above-average spending, France struggles with broader developed world issues like growing teacher shortages highlighted in the OECD's Education at a Glance report. Many nations hire underqualified teachers to fill vacant positions, with 9 percent of primary and secondary teachers across the OECD lacking full qualifications during the 2024-2025 school year. In France, 11 percent of secondary teachers lack full qualifications compared to under 3 percent in primary schools, while lower secondary classes average 26 pupils against an OECD average of 23. Protesting pupils have highlighted similar concerns regarding large classes, unreplaced absent teachers, dilapidated buildings lacking air conditioning during intense heatwaves, missing furniture, and rodent infestations. Furthermore, only 4 percent of teachers surveyed felt their profession is valued in society, marking the lowest share globally and falling significantly short of the 22 percent OECD average.

How much has spending changed?

Historical UNESCO data reveals that France's education spending dropped from 5.5 percent of GDP in 2017 to 5.3 percent in 2022, though it maintained the ninth-highest position among 29 European nations with available data. A temporary rise to 5.7 percent in 2020 stemmed from pandemic-driven economic shrinkage rather than increased funding. France was among 14 countries experiencing a decline in spending share, with Norway and Denmark facing the steepest drops while Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic saw the largest increases.

What else are these nations spending on?

The protests coincide with nationwide public sector strikes addressing the proposed 2027 budget by French President Emmanuel Macron’s government, which targets 54 billion euros ($61.3bn) in savings to manage a large public deficit. Public sector workers and unions particularly oppose plans to freeze state employee salaries to save roughly 2 billion euros ($2.27bn). According to 2022 World Bank and UNESCO data, most European governments allocate more funds to education than to defence, though healthcare claims the largest share of national income among the three, with France dedicating 11.9 percent of its GDP to healthcare—one of the highest rates in Europe.