Videos circulating on social media that purportedly show French police resigning or joining protests actually date from March 2023, during demonstrations against pension reform, and are not from the 2026 student protests. Throughout the 2026 protests, French police have generally continued to carry out their crowd-control and public-order duties. Controversies have arisen—including allegations that police may have protected far-right groups during clashes in some cities—but these remain accusations that the Interior Minister has denied, not evidence that police have joined the protest movement.
What is key to a revolution is the fact that when the police/army turn against the government, then you get the revolution. That is what took place in Russia when Yeltsin stood on the tank and told the army not to fire on their fellow Russians and the stood-down causing the coup to collapse. the same took place in Ukraine and that is what brought down Yanakovich.
The risk of France seeing such a point will arrive in 2027. That is when the economic pressure will add to the mix and the opportunity for the police to switch sides will be present. It is possible this could materialize during the first quarter ’27 if energy rallies sharply into March. That could bring Le Pen to power in April 2027, this also could be the pressure that builds into a French vs Migrant conflict, but that may be waiting in the wings for 2028.
