Shafaq News- Paris

French Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced on Friday that more than 400 schools had been closed because some had been damaged or authorities could not guarantee the safety of students and staff amid weeklong protests.

Geffray reported that at least 170 students and 65 staff members had been injured since the protests began, including 40 high school principals, adding that more than 200 people had been injured during clashes.

Speaking to BFMTV, Geffray described the high school student movement as having been taken hostage by ultra-violent fringe groups, urging parents to take responsibility and tell their children not to attend the demonstrations. “What matters now is ensuring our children are no longer out on the streets, because they are in danger.”

French authorities reported that 1,949 people were arrested on Thursday, while 305 police officers and gendarmes were injured.

The protests began in Paris last week before rapidly spreading across France. Some high school students blocked school entrances and clashed with police while protesting the deteriorating condition of school buildings, overcrowded classrooms, and teacher shortages.

Later, protests spread to universities, with the student union reporting barricades around about 30 university campuses.