Hundreds of secondary schools across France have been forced to close as student protests continue, driven by anger over deteriorating facilities and teacher shortages nationwide.
Government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told CNews television on Monday that the priority was to "restore order." Earlier, on Sunday evening, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that of the country's 3,700 schools, between 400 and 500 could be fully or partially closed on Monday.
According to Geffray, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, while 78 teachers have been injured since the protests began.
The nationwide unrest erupted late last month at a secondary school in a Paris suburb, initially in protest at teacher shortages, before spreading across the country.
Al Jazeera correspondent Natacha Butler, reporting from a secondary school in Paris, said students had erected barricades at the school gates using rubbish bins and fencing.
"We've been speaking to a number of students who are here. They say they have come to make their voices heard by the government. They say they are tired of teacher shortages, of frequently having no teachers for subjects like maths and English," Butler said.
"They also say they have come to show solidarity with other secondary school students in poorer parts of France, where facilities are worse, or in overseas territories. They say all young people must have the right to an equal education," Butler added.
French news channel BFMTV broadcast images of police and students clashing in Lille in the north, tear gas being used in Toulouse in the southwest, and a fire breaking out as people tried to break into a school in central Paris.
Carole Zerbib, principal of the vandalised Lycee Vauquelin in Paris's 13th district, said a "very determined" group wearing hoods and masks attacked her school. Although police and firefighters quickly put out the fire and the school was evacuated with classes suspended, Zerbib said the incident was "very violent and happened very fast," lasting around 15-20 minutes.
Since September 28, around 5,000 people, mostly youths, have been arrested across the country and dozens injured. French newspaper La Voix du Nord reported on Monday that a teenager lost a hand after picking up a police stun grenade.
Teachers and members of the public have also been attacked, while property damage is estimated at tens of millions of euros. Student unions have called a national day of protest for Tuesday.
