Bordeaux’s two public universities are taking different approaches to the return from the Toussaint (All Saints’) holiday after several weeks of blockades on campus. According to France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Université Bordeaux Montaigne reopens on Monday 2 November, while Université de Bordeaux will stay closed for another week.
What happened
France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine is the regional branch of the French public broadcaster. In a report by Julie Chapman, it describes the rentrée universitaire (the return to university classes) in Bordeaux as happening “en ordre très dispersé”, which means in a very scattered and uncoordinated way. The headline quotes a comment it does not attribute to anyone by name: “C’est bordélique avec les cours en ligne”, roughly “it’s chaotic with online classes”.
The report says the two universities have made opposite decisions. Université Bordeaux Montaigne, the university focused on humanities, languages and arts, has chosen to reopen its doors from Monday 2 November. Université de Bordeaux, the larger multidisciplinary university, has decided to keep its doors closed for one more week. France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine says that decision came from the university’s présidence, its senior leadership.
The broadcaster also describes the campus at Pessac, the town next to Bordeaux where much of the university estate sits. During the school holidays the site has been unusually quiet, it says, in contrast with the crowd that had occupied it for several weeks before the break. The part of the report available to us does not explain who organised the blockades, what their demands were, or how many people took part. We have not included those details because the source text provided does not state them.
What it means for you
If you or someone in your household studies or works at Université Bordeaux Montaigne, the report says the university reopens on Monday 2 November. Check your university email and your faculty’s announcements before you travel to campus, because the broadcaster describes the overall return as disorganised.
If you are connected to Université de Bordeaux, expect its sites to remain closed for one more week after the holiday. The report does not give an exact reopening date. It does not say which buildings or faculties the closure covers either, or whether teaching will move online during that time. The headline’s reference to online classes suggests some teaching has already moved online, but the source does not say how this will be organised during the extra week of closure.
For international students, this uncertainty may matter for practical commitments such as exams, lab sessions, internship agreements or appointments with the international relations office. Contact your department or the scolarité (the student records and administration office) directly to confirm what applies to your course. The report does not mention any changes to tram or bus services to the Pessac campus.
Parents of students and staff who travel to Pessac should plan around the different dates for each institution. A household with members at both universities could face two different timetables in the same week.
What to watch next
The main thing to watch is how Université de Bordeaux handles the end of its additional week of closure, and whether its présidence publishes a reopening date and arrangements for classes. At Université Bordeaux Montaigne, watch how the reopening on 2 November goes, given the blockades on campus in the weeks before the holiday. Official notices from each university are the most reliable source for changes to timetables and access.
Source: France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Sources
- France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine: "C'est bordélique avec les cours en ligne" : après les blocages, la rentrée universitaire se fait en ordre très dispersé à Bordeaux, accessed 30 October 2026
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