More than 500 schools in France stayed closed Monday in full or part as officials readied for further student protests this week that could become violent. Education Minister Edouard Geffray stated Sunday that safety conditions after last week’s unrest bar reopening after fires and ransacking hit 24 schools and at least 78 ministry staff were injured.
Police reports named far-left groups like La France Insoumise of Jean-Luc Melenchon and the Young Revolutionary Communists as instigators of the shift from peaceful September 17 calls for school resources into last week’s arson, vandalism, assaults and blockades that detained over 5,000 people, 85 percent of them minors. A weekend lull left 413 schools disrupted Monday, down 27 percent from Friday, as Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced Sunday steps to address original demands including teacher shortages.