Hundreds of schools remain closed across France amid student protests
France will partially or fully close up to 500 high schools on Monday following days of clashes between riot police and student protesters, Education Minister Édouard Geffray said on Sunday.
Lessons will be “totally or partly suspended” at between 400 and 500 schools where security conditions have not been met, Geffray said.
He said 24 schools had been “burned or ransacked” since protests over education standards began last week.
The demonstrations, which started in Paris, have spread to other cities including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.
Thousands of students have taken part in the protests, demanding more teachers, less overcrowding and improvements to deteriorating school buildings.
Geffray said the number of schools affected on Monday could be similar to Friday, when Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France’s 3,700 schools had been affected “one way or another” by violent protests. He promised a “partial, progressive return to lessons”.
Geffray accused far-left activists of infiltrating and hijacking the student movement, saying they had engaged in extreme violence and posed a risk to students and education staff.
He said 78 education workers had been wounded, describing the figure as unprecedented.
More than 5,000 people have been arrested since the unrest began, according to AFP, with about 85% of those detained being minors.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 1,747 people were arrested on Friday alone.
Protest organisers have called for demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, accusing the government of failing to take “concrete measures” to address students’ concerns.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Sunday that the government was taking further steps to address difficulties faced by students and education workers.
The measures include ensuring classes continue, improving school facilities, reorganising school days and making the university admissions platform more transparent.
Lecornu also said the government was accelerating its review of a “vandal-pays” bill aimed at making people responsible for damage pay for the cost of repairs.