Up to 500 high schools across France are expected to be fully or partially closed on Monday as nationwide student protests over poor education conditions continue to escalate.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said between 400 and 500 secondary schools would suspend classes because security conditions had not been met. The figure is similar to the number of schools affected on Friday, when hundreds of institutions suspended lessons amid demonstrations and clashes between students and police. Geffray said authorities would aim for a gradual and partial return to classes where conditions allow.
The protests began in the Paris region in mid-September before spreading to cities including Montpellier, Nantes, Marseille and other parts of the country. Students have complained about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating school buildings and demanding school schedules. Some have also criticised the ban on mobile phones in schools.
The unrest has increasingly been accompanied by violence, with protesters accused of throwing objects at police and damaging public property and school buildings. Geffray said 24 schools had been burned or ransacked since the movement began. He also reported that 78 education workers had been injured.
French authorities said 735 schools had been affected in some way by the protests, while Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said nearly 5,000 people had been arrested since the unrest began. Around 85% of those arrested were reportedly minors.
Geffray accused far-left activists of infiltrating the student movement and encouraging extreme violence. He said the situation posed a security risk to students and education workers.
The government has faced criticism over its handling of the protests, with some groups accusing police of using excessive force. Officials, however, have defended the security response and said officers were intervening to prevent violence and property damage.
The protests are expected to intensify on Tuesday, when student organisers have called for another nationwide mobilisation. France’s major teachers’ unions have also announced their support for the students’ demands.
