Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced on Sunday that as many as 500 high schools nationwide will be shut or partially shut on Monday, citing unmet security conditions amid a surge of student protests that began at a Paris lycée on September 17. 24 schools have already been burned or ransacked, and 78 teachers and staff members have been wounded in clashes that have drawn more than 5,000 arrests, 85 % of whom are minors.
Geffray blamed far‑left activists for hijacking the movement, claiming that they incited violence and targeted teachers as a deliberate assault on the national education system. He said the violence—including tear gas, batons and a gasoline‑lit attack on a 59‑year‑old teacher in La Ciotat—poses an unprecedented risk to staff and students alike.
One of the more visceral episodes involved a 16‑year‑old who was detained after reportedly assaulting a teacher during a protest in the south. A video shows a young man covered in black splashing a liquid that ignited a nearby tree while the teacher struggled to breathe. In the east, two Bulgarian youths, aged 15 and 17, were arrested for suspected aggravated violence after being filmed beating a policeman in Belfort.
Amnesty France president Anne Savinel‑Barras decried the “disproportionate police violence” and called for students to be able to express grievances without fear of tear gas or arbitrary detentions. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez countered that security forces are “protecting” students who wish to voice demands peacefully, rejecting the notion of a crackdown.
Authorities will keep the schools closed until conditions improve, pledging a partial, progressive return to lessons as the protests continue on Tuesday. The next major development will be the national demonstration on Tuesday, after which a review of security protocols and a possible policy shift will be announced.