Riyad Rani: From Student Activist to One of the Leading Figures of High School Protests in France
Within a few days, 19-year-old Riad Rani transformed from a high school student activist into one of the most prominent figures associated with the wave of protests and high school closures in France. Rani heads the High School Students’ Trade Union, which supports the current mobilizations and demands improved study conditions in educational institutions.
Born in Rouen in northern France, Rani grew up in a family with separated parents. He lived with his mother in social housing until her sudden death last January.
The young man, who later moved to Waterloo, a town near Lille, says his personal experience has brought him closer to the difficulties faced by low-income families, particularly amid rising food and fuel prices and the repercussions of inflation.
His father, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, worked for many years in manual labor jobs.
Rani recently graduated from high school, having studied in his final year with a curriculum including fine arts, history, geography, geopolitics, and political science. He was also a member of the school’s social council.
He obtained his baccalaureate degree last September after completing a supplementary course at the Émile Zola school complex in Waterloo.
In April last year, Rani assumed the presidency of the High School Students’ Trade Union, which was founded in 2023 and is classified as part of the French left.
The union adopts positions described as anti-fascist, pro-women’s rights, and active in environmental and social issues. It maintains ties with the National Union of Students in France (UNEF) and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT).
Since the closure of several high schools began about 10 days ago, the organization has supported expanding the scope of student mobilizations.
Key demands include addressing overcrowding and pressure on students by reducing class sizes and adjusting timetables, ensuring that absent teachers are replaced, renovating aging school buildings, and taking measures to address the impacts of climate change within educational institutions.
In 2022, Rani completed an internship with Deputy David Guérard, who later became mayor of Rouen. Last August, he participated in summer events for the “La France Insoumise” party, serving as president of the student union.
During the recent municipal elections, he was the third candidate on a local list in Waterloo, which included representatives from several left-wing parties, including La France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, and the “Génération.s” movement.
However, Rani emphasizes that these political involvements do not signify his affiliation with any political party.
Rani’s rise in the media has also come with personal consequences. He announced that since the start of the recent student mobilizations, he has received hundreds of death threats and racist insults.
As the trade union he leads continues to support the protests, Rani finds himself at the center of a debate that extends beyond school-related demands to encompass the role of youth and students in France’s social and political movements.
At just 19 years old, the young man from the neighborhoods of Rouen has become one of the most visible faces of the French student protest scene, as demonstrations continue in several high schools.
