2,000 arrested in France as student protests escalate into violence

PARIS — About 400 schools in France are expected to remain ​closed on Friday after student protests over education-related grievances turned violent in some ‌places.

The protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings erupted in the Paris region last month but have turned increasingly violent as they spread nationwide, with dozens injured and police making ​hundreds of arrests.

“There is an active and violent minority (participating in the protests) … ​We’re not entirely sure that they are even high-school students themselves,” Justice ⁠Minister Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio on Friday, adding that 2,000 people had ​been arrested since the protests began, with about two-thirds placed in police custody.

“We have ​gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public-order disturbance. When people target buses and set schools on fire, it is no longer simply a protest issue”, he also said.

In an interview with ​broadcaster France 2, French Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on Thursday evening that “a ​little over 400 schools and other educational establishments” would remain closed on Friday.

According to a source ‌close ⁠to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, intelligence agencies told a crisis meeting on Thursday that the protest movement had been initiated by politicians from the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world