French School Closures Spread as Student Protests Intensify

Hundreds of French high schools will remain closed for a second week on Monday as student protests over dilapidated facilities, overcrowding, and teacher shortages precede a nationwide day of demonstrations on Tuesday. Between 400 and 500 of France's 3,700 high schools are expected to be fully or partially closed, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said. The protests, which began in late September in a Paris suburb, have led to 24 schools being burned or ransacked and 78 education employees injured. Around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested since last Monday, with property damage estimated in the tens of millions of euros. The unrest compounds investor concerns over France's fiscal outlook, as the government prepares a deficit-narrowing 2027 budget.