France to close up to 500 schools on Monday over student protests
Lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" in some high schools after clashes between riot police and student protesters, France's education minister says.
France to shut as many as 500 schools on Monday amid student protests
French riot police were sent in to handle the protests on Friday
As many as 500 schools across France will be partly or fully closed on Monday following clashes in recent days between riot police and student protesters, the French education minister said on Sunday.
In some "400 to 500" high schools, lessons will be "totally or partly suspended" because security conditions "have not been fulfilled", Édouard Geffray said.
He also said 24 schools had been "burned or ransacked" since the protests began.
Thousands of students have been protesting over education standards, and the demonstrations, which began last week, have spread from Paris to other cities, including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.
High school pupils and others have complained about a shortage of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.
On Friday, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France's 3,700 schools had been affected "one way or another" by violent protests.
The education minister warned that the number of schools potentially affected on Monday could be similar to Friday's total, 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 claimed.
"Clearly, this poses a risk to both our staff and our students," he said. Geffray added that 78 staff members in education had been wounded, which he described as "something we have never seen before".
On Friday, 1,747 people were arrested, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Organisers of the protests have called for the demonstrations to continue on Tuesday after accusing the government of a lack of "concrete measures", according to the AFP news agency.
On Sunday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said his government is taking further steps to "address the difficulties faced by high school students and educational staff".
He said this includes ensuring classes continue, improving facilities, better organising school days and making the French university admissions platform more transparent.
Lecornu also said the government is accelerating the review of its "vandal-pays" bill to ensure that people responsible for damage bear the cost of their actions.