The French Minister of Education, Edouard Geffray, announced that between 400 and 500 high schools will be partially or fully closed on Monday amid student protests across the country in recent days demanding better classroom conditions, according to reports.
Classes in these schools will be “suspended totally or partially” due to the protests, the minister stated.
Since the start of the protest movement, 24 schools have been reported as either burned or heavily damaged.
At least 5,000 individuals, mainly teenagers, have been detained during the demonstrations. Unions are urging teachers to strike.
The student protests, which have now attracted support from university students, began in the Paris region and have spread nationwide. Students are voicing concerns about overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, and deteriorating school facilities.
Authorities Warn Situation is Escalating
In some instances, the demonstrations have turned violent, with masked protesters setting fires and reports of students being struck by police batons.
This weekend, authorities warned that the situation is getting “out of control.”
The head of police in Paris, Patrice Faure, urged students to stop blockading schools and return to peaceful forms of protest. He suggested to parents that there may be an influence on the protest movement from so-called “professional hooligans.”
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), France’s spending on primary and secondary education has remained in the middle range among member countries, increasing between 2015 and 2022, though its share of the budget has slightly declined. The government has described the protests as irresponsible, while acknowledging that issues in high schools need to be recognized and addressed, as reported by Reuters.
