French Authorities Detain Over 1,700 People During Student Protests

French authorities have arrested more than 1,700 people during student protests marked by violence and the closure of high schools, as organizers called for continued mobilization, demanding concrete measures to improve study conditions.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 1,747 individuals had been detained, bringing the total number of arrests since Monday to over 5,000, following the closure of high schools.

He noted that 735 institutions were affected by the protests, with violence occurring near 158 of them, including the throwing of projectiles and attacks on law enforcement officers, teachers, journalists, and passersby.

The protests began on September 17 in the Paris region before rapidly spreading across the country, where final-year high school students blocked entrances to their schools and clashed with police.

Students say that school hours are excessively long and that conditions in schools are inadequate, including high temperatures in classrooms, as well as frequent staff shortages.