Nearly 400 high schools across France were closed on Friday following a week-long protest by students over long school hours and poor learning conditions.
The protests, which began last week in the Paris region before spreading nationwide, have involved students in their final years of secondary education blocking access to schools and clashing with police.
The students are protesting what they describe as excessively long school hours, inadequate facilities, overheated classrooms and a shortage of staff due to frequent absences.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray acknowledged that the students' concerns were legitimate but condemned the violence linked to the demonstrations.
Geffray said nearly 400 of France's 3,700 high schools were expected to remain closed on Friday, adding that the student movement had been taken over by what he described as “ultra-violent fringe groups.”
Several schools, particularly in Marseille, have also planned to hold classes remotely because of the unrest.
At least 65 school staff members, including 40 high school principals, have been injured since the protests began, Geffray told BFMTV.
He urged parents to discourage their children from participating in the demonstrations, warning that students could be exposed to danger while protesting in the streets.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said he had instructed prosecutors to hold parents responsible for damage caused by their children during the protests and seek payment for repairs.
Darmanin said approximately 2,000 people had been taken into police custody since the demonstrations began, with about 90 per cent of those detained being minors.
The protests remain ongoing as French authorities attempt to address students' concerns while restoring normal school activities.
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