France Shuts Nearly 400 High Schools as Student Protests Spread Nationwide

Nearly 400 high schools across France were closed on Friday as a week-long wave of student protests over long school hours, poor facilities and staff shortages continued to spread across the country.

The demonstrations began in the Paris region last week before quickly extending to several other parts of France.

Students, particularly teenagers in their final years of secondary education, have been blocking entrances to schools and organising demonstrations to draw attention to their concerns.

The protesting students have complained about excessively long school hours, inadequate learning facilities, overheated classrooms and frequent absences among teaching and other school staff.

They are calling for better conditions and changes that would make the school environment more suitable for students and teachers.

However, some of the demonstrations have resulted in confrontations with police and incidents of violence.

Authorities said dozens of school staff members have been injured since the protests began, while thousands of people have been taken into police custody.

France’s Education Minister, Edouard Geffray, said the concerns raised by students were legitimate but strongly criticised the violence accompanying some of the protests.

He said nearly 400 schools out of about 3,700 high schools across the country were expected to be closed on Friday.

According to Geffray, at least 65 members of school staff had been injured since the beginning of the unrest, including 40 high school principals.

He urged parents to discourage their children from participating in demonstrations where they could be exposed to danger.

Some schools have also resorted to remote learning as a way of continuing academic activities despite the disruption.

The measure has been particularly adopted in Marseille, in southern France, where protests have also affected schools.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said prosecutors had been instructed to consider holding parents responsible for damage allegedly caused by their children during the demonstrations.

He said parents could be required to contribute towards the cost of repairing damaged property.

Darmanin further disclosed that approximately 2,000 people had been taken into police custody since the protests began. He said about 90 per cent of those detained were minors.

The government has continued to call for calm, stressing that students have the right to express concerns about their education but should not resort to violence or acts that endanger others.

The continuing protests have created significant disruption in France’s secondary education system, with authorities facing the challenge of addressing students’ concerns while restoring normal academic activities and maintaining public safety.

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