Up to five hundred high schools across France are slated for partial or total closure on Monday following clashes between riot police and student protestors.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said lessons will be suspended in 400‑500 schools because "security conditions have not been fulfilled." The minister also reported 24 schools burned or ransacked since the protests began.
Thousands of students from Paris to Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille have taken to the streets, demanding a higher teacher‑to‑student ratio, less overcrowding and better school facilities. The movement started last week, with violent incidents reported in 735 of 3,700 schools, according to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Geffray accused far‑left groups of infiltrating the student movement, describing the violence as unprecedented and warning that "it poses a risk to staff and students." Ninety‑eight staff members have been wounded, a figure he said had never been seen before.
Over 1,700 people were arrested on Friday, bringing the total since the protests to more than 5,000, with about 85% of those detained being minors.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government is accelerating reforms to address student hardships: ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days and making the university admissions platform transparent. He also noted a review of a vandal‑pays bill so that those responsible for damage bear the cost.
