France may close up to 500 schools amid student protests

As many as 500 schools across France could be partially or fully closed on Monday following clashes between riot police and student protesters in recent days, Education Minister Édouard Geffray said on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Lessons will be “totally or partly suspended” at 400 to 500 high schools because security conditions have not been met, Geffray said. He added that 24 schools had been “burned or ransacked” since the protests began.

Protests spread beyond Paris

Thousands of students have taken part in demonstrations over education standards since last week. The protests have spread from Paris to other cities, including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.

High school students and others have raised concerns about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings. On Friday, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France’s 3,700 schools had been affected in some way by violent protests.

Government promises steps to address concerns

Geffray said the number of schools potentially affected on Monday could be comparable to Friday’s figure, but pledged a “partial, progressive return to lessons”. He alleged that far-left activists had entered the student movement and engaged in extreme violence, posing a risk to students and staff.

The education minister said 78 education staff had been injured, describing the figure as unprecedented. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 1,747 people were arrested on Friday.

Protest organisers have called for demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, accusing the government of failing to take “concrete measures”, the AFP news agency reported.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Sunday that his government was taking further steps to address difficulties faced by high school students and education staff. These include ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days and making the university admissions platform more transparent.

Lecornu also said the government was speeding up its review of a bill requiring people responsible for vandalism to pay for the damage.