France closes 500 schools as student protests spread; over 5,000 arrested

France has closed or partially closed up to 500 high schools on Monday as student protests spread nationwide, with Education Minister Edouard Geffray citing unmet security conditions ahead of larger demonstrations planned for Tuesday. Over 5,000 people have been arrested since the movement began, 85 percent of them minors. The protests started at a Paris school on September 17 and escalated into nationwide demonstrations last week, with clashes between teenagers and police using tear gas and truncheons. Students cite high teacher absence rates, overlong school days, and dilapidated facilities as key grievances, while 24 schools have been burned or ransacked and 78 education staff injured. Geffray blamed far-left infiltrators for hijacking the movement, while Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has proposed a timetable to address teacher shortages and school building issues. Amnesty International's France branch called police violence "disproportionate," but Interior Minister Laurent Nunez defended security forces as protecting peaceful protesters.