France Closes 400 High Schools As Student Protests Spread Nationwide

Nearly 400 high schools across France were closed on Friday as a week-long protest movement by students continued to spread, with authorities reporting dozens of injured school staff and about 2,000 arrests.

The demonstrations, which began in the Paris region last week before expanding to other parts of the country, have involved students in their final years of secondary education blocking entrances to schools and clashing with police.

The students are protesting what they describe as excessively long school hours, inadequate learning conditions, including overheated classrooms, and a shortage of staff due to frequent absences. The government has acknowledged the students’ concerns but condemned the violence and disruption accompanying some of the demonstrations.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the protests had been taken over by what he described as “ultra-violent fringe groups.”