Around 400 schools and educational institutions across France are expected to remain closed on Friday as student protests over concerns about the education system escalate, with violence reported in several locations.
“There are just over 400 schools and other educational institutions that I know will be closed,” French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said in an interview.
According to information from people close to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, intelligence agencies told a crisis meeting on Thursday that the protest movement had been initiated by far-left politicians, including members of La France Insoumise (LFI).
LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard rejected the claim in comments to French broadcasters.
Protests over teacher shortages and deteriorating school buildings began in the Paris region last month but have grown increasingly violent as they spread across the country. Dozens of people have been injured, while police have made hundreds of arrests.
On Thursday, student protesters reportedly set fires at at least two high schools, while teachers were accidentally sprayed with gasoline at a third school in the southern city of Marseille, according to officials.
At least one car was set on fire in Strasbourg in eastern France, while police clashed with young protesters in Toulouse in the southwest.
