400 French schools closed on Friday as protests escalate into ‘urban violence’ – Europe live

Hundreds of high schools throughout France shut their doors on Friday as nationwide student demonstrations deteriorated into broader clashes and severe property destruction, according to government officials. Around 400 campuses were closed after a week of unrest that authorities characterized as escalating into urban violence.

The French education ministry reported that roughly 100 secondary schools suffered major damage during the demonstrations. In addition, about 40 principals and headteachers sustained injuries as confrontations intensified on campuses across the country. Authorities dispatched riot police to disperse crowds and counter the disorder, which included fresh disruptions outside facilities such as the Simone-Veil high school in Marseille and the Jean-Rostand school in Strasbourg.

Student organizers launched the actions to highlight deteriorating learning conditions. Demonstrators cited heavily congested class schedules, packed classrooms, and chronic staffing shortages among their core concerns. They also pointed to extreme heat experienced earlier in the year, arguing that classroom temperatures had become unmanageable.

Law enforcement agencies have detained nearly 3,000 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 since the demonstrations began, according to figures released by the interior ministry. Mass arrests reached a single-day peak on Thursday, when police took 1,949 young people into custody.

Government officials responded with warnings and potential legal repercussions for the families of those involved. Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin instructed regional prosecutors during an evening briefing to pursue civil liability cases, aiming to hold parents financially accountable for destruction attributed to their children. Education Minister Edouard Geffray appealed directly to families for intervention, cautioning that teenagers faced real danger while participating in street confrontations.

Financial estimates indicate that repair costs could reach into the hundreds of millions of euros nationwide. In the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region alone, officials estimated preliminary physical losses at approximately 25 million euros. The prime minister convened an emergency cabinet session to address the crisis as unrest showed few signs of abating.