Hundreds of secondary schools are closed in France as student protests escalate

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About 400 high schools were closed across France on Friday due to student protests that have been ongoing for a week, during which dozens of employees were injured and police arrested about 2,000 people, according to officials.

The protests began last week in the Paris region before quickly spreading across the country, as students in the final years of secondary school closed the entrances to their schools and clashed with the police.

Students say that school hours are excessively long, and that conditions in schools are inadequate, including high temperatures in classrooms, as well as frequent staff absences.

The government says these complaints are legitimate, but rejects acts of violence.

French Education Minister Edouard Geoffray said, "The movement of secondary school students has become hostage to extremely violent fringe groups," adding that it is expected that about 400 secondary schools out of 3,700 in the country will be closed on Friday.

Many secondary schools intend to organize distance learning, especially in the city of Marseille in the south of the country.

Jeffray told BFMTV that at least 65 employees have been injured since the movement began, including 40 secondary school principals.

He added, "Parents must bear their responsibilities clearly and tell their children not to go" to the demonstrations. He continued, "The most important thing now is to ensure that our children do not remain on the streets, because they are at risk."

For his part, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said that he asked prosecutors to hold parents responsible for the damage caused by their children during the protests, and to oblige them “to pay the costs of repairs.”

Darmanin added to RTL radio that about two thousand people have been placed in police custody since the start of the movement, "90 percent of whom are minors."