France to shutter up to 500 schools as more student protests called

The French education ministry announced Sunday that up to 400–500 high schools will be fully or partially closed on Monday as a precautionary response to ongoing student protests. Education Minister Edouard Geffray said lessons would be "totally or partly suspended" in those establishments because required security conditions had not been met, and that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked since the demonstrations began. The unrest started on 17 September at a suburban Paris high school, driven by complaints about teacher shortages, large class sizes and long school days. The movement quickly spread across the country, producing class strikes, blockades and street demonstrations that have disrupted schooling in hundreds of institutions; the ministry reported at least 400 of Frances 3,700 high schools were closed on Friday and 560 were experiencing protests or other disruptions. Authorities say the unrest has produced significant casualties and enforcement activity. Geffray reported at least 170 students and 78 education staff injured since the protests began in the Paris region, while the interior minister said more than 5,000 people were arrested over the past week, about 85% of them minors. Rights groups and critics have accused police of using disproportionate force; Amnesty International called for students to be listened to rather than repressed. After a relative lull over the weekend, protest organisers urged a resumption of large-scale demonstrations starting Tuesday, saying the government had not offered concrete measures to address their concerns. Geffray also alleged in a radio interview that far-left activists had infiltrated the movement and were responsible for extreme violence, a claim that highlights tensions over the protests leadership and tactics as authorities seek a "partial, progressive return to lessons."