Around 400 Schools in France Closed Following Violent Student Protests

AP

France's student protest.

About 400 educational establishments across France are expected to remain closed on Friday following a series of student demonstrations over educational grievances that have turned increasingly violent in several regions.   

The demonstrations—sparked by widespread staff shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating school infrastructure—initially broke out in the Paris region last month. However, the movement has since spread across the country, escalating into violent clashes. The unrest has resulted in dozens of injuries and hundreds of arrests by law enforcement.   

"There is an active and violent minority (participating in the protests) ... We're not entirely sure that they are even high-school students themselves", Justice ⁠Minister Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio on Friday, adding that 2,000 people had been arrested since the protests began, with about two-thirds placed in police custody.

"We have gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public-order disturbance. When people target buses and set schools on fire, it is no longer simply a protest issue", he also said.

In an interview with broadcaster France 2, French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Thursday evening that "a little over 400 schools and other educational establishments" would remain closed on Friday.

Student protesters started fires in at ⁠least two high schools on Thursday, while teachers were inadvertently splashed with petrol at a third in the southern city of Marseille, officials said. At least one car was torched in Strasbourg in ⁠the east and riot police clashed with youths in Toulouse in the southwest.

Some high school students in the city of Liège in neighbouring Belgium also began protesting on Thursday. ⁠According to local media, authorities in Liège announced that all schools in the city would close on Friday. A spokesperson for the municipality did not immediately confirm the closures.

Source: Reuters



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