In brief
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced an acceleration of reforms as the French education minister says up to 500 schools will suspend lessons on Monday. Schools already hit by clashes between students and riot police are being closed to ensure safety. Protesters, demanding increased staffing, less overcrowding, and better conditions, have already shut 400 to 500 schools, with 735 affected by Friday. Police have arrested 1,747 students in one day and over 5,000 since the movement began, most of whom are teenagers. The government claims far‑left agitators have hijacked the protests, escalating violence and injuring staff.
Up to 500 high schools across France will be partially or totally closed on Monday after clashes between riot police and students in recent days, the education minister said on Sunday.
The closures will include 400 to 500 schools where “security conditions have not been fulfilled,” Édouard Geffray said. He added that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked since the protests began.
Students nationwide, now numbering in the thousands, have been demonstrating over education standards, citing a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and run‑down facilities. The movement has spread from Paris to cities such as Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.
Friday saw 735 of France’s 3,700 schools affected by protest‑related damage, according to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. The education minister warned that the number of schools impacted on Monday could match Friday’s figure but promised a “partial, progressive return to lessons.”
Geffray accused far‑left activists of infiltrating the high‑school movement and fostering extreme violence, stating that 78 staff members across schools were wounded, an unprecedented figure. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported 1,747 arrests on Friday; the AFP notes that more than 5,000 people have been arrested since the protests began, roughly 85 % of whom are minors.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government is taking further steps to address difficulties faced by students and staff, including ensuring classes can continue, improving facilities, better organizing school days, and accelerating a review of a vandal‑pays bill to hold offenders accountable for damage.
Organisers have called the demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, demanding concrete measures. As police and students clash, the French government faces mounting pressure to reform the education system and diffuse the unrest.
