France closes up to 500 schools Monday over student protests

Up to 500 schools throughout France will be partially or totally closed on Monday after clashes between riot police and student protesters in recent days, the French education minister stated on Sunday.

Key points

• On Friday, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin remarked 735 of France's 3, 700 schools had been affected "one way or another" by violent protests.
• On Friday 1, 747 individuals were arrested, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
• Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some "400 to 500" high schools as security conditions "have not been fulfilled", Édouard Geffray remarked.
• On Sunday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu remarked his administration is taking further steps to "address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff".
• The education minister cautioned the number of schools potentially affected on Monday could be comparable to Friday's figure but promised a "partial, progressive return to lessons".

He additionally stated 24 schools had been "burned or ransacked" since the start of the protests.

Thousands of students have been demonstrating over education standards and the protests. It began last week, have spread from Paris to other cities, including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.

High school pupils and others have objected to a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.

Meanwhile, the education minister cautioned the number of schools potentially affected on Monday could be comparable to Friday's figure but promised a "partial, progressive return to lessons".

"There are activists – particularly from the far-left – who have infiltrated the high school student movement, hijacked it from the students themselves, and engaged in extreme violence, " Édouard Geffray asserted.

"Clearly, this poses a risk to both our staff and our students, " he remarked. Geffray continued that 78 staff members in education had been wounded. It he described as "something we have never seen before".

On Friday 1, 747 individuals were arrested, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. Riot police clash with students as education protests rage in France. School protests send shivers down French government's spine.

Organisers of the protests have pressed the demonstrations to continue on Tuesday after accusing the administration of a lack of "concrete measures", according to the AFP news agency.

He remarked this includes ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days and making the French university admissions platform more transparent.

Lecornu additionally stated the administration is accelerating the review of its "vandal-pays" bill to ensure that residents responsible for damage bear the cost of their actions.

For now, france closes up to 500 schools Monday over student protests remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.