Fires and clashes erupt as French student protests disrupt 564 schools

Student protests at French high schools escalated on Friday, as demonstrators set fires outside schools and clashed with police. The Ministry of Education announced that disruptions had affected 564 schools since the start of the day, amid a protest movement that began last week in the Paris area and has since spread across the country.

Fires damaged the entrances of Leonardo da Vinci High School in southern Paris and Gaston Bachelard High School in the southeast of the capital, with firefighters called to extinguish the blazes, according to an AFP photographer. In the western city of Brest, police used tear gas outside Kerichen High School, while in Rennes, a blockade took place at Jean Macé High School amid a heavy police presence.

Final-year students are protesting what they describe as excessively long school hours and poor conditions, including high classroom temperatures and frequent staff absences. The government has acknowledged the legitimacy of these complaints but condemned the violence accompanying the protests.

French Minister of Education Édouard Geffray said earlier that up to 400 out of 3,700 high schools nationwide were expected to close, warning that "the high school student movement has been taken hostage by extremely violent fringe groups."

Geffray told BFM TV that at least 65 staff members have been injured since the protests began, including 40 high school principals, and around 170 students have also been hurt. More than 100 high schools have suffered significant damage.

He added, "Parents must take clear responsibility and tell their children not to participate" in the protests, stressing, "The most important thing now is to ensure our children are not left in the streets, as they are at risk."

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he had instructed prosecutors to hold parents accountable for damages caused by their children during the protests and to require them "to pay for repairs." He told RTL radio that around 2,000 people—90 percent of them minors—have been detained by police since the movement began.

In Rennes, a 16-year-old student named Lola, who declined to give her surname, said, "For us, we have won—our school is closed this morning." She criticized what she described as police violence, adding, "This only increases our anger. The police have no right to hit us or use tear gas against us."

The protests have taken on a political dimension just over six months before the presidential election, with the government accusing the far-left France Unbowed party, led by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, of orchestrating the movement. Party official Manuel Bompard responded by accusing the government of "falling into conspiracy theories."

In an effort to ease tensions, the education minister announced he would meet on Friday with education unions and high school student associations to seek common ground for dialogue.