France closes up to 500 schools as student protests trigger clashes with riot police

France's education minister has announced the closure of up to 500 schools on Monday after widespread student protests forced authorities to suspend lessons, either wholly or in part, across the country's lycées.

The closures follow clashes between riot police and student demonstrators outside school premises. The minister confirmed that teaching would be "totally or partly suspended" at the affected institutions as officials sought to restore order.

The protests are concentrated at lycées, the schools attended by French teenagers aged 15 to 18 in the final years of their secondary education — broadly equivalent to high school in the United States or sixth form in the United Kingdom.

The scale of the disruption, affecting hundreds of establishments simultaneously, underlines the depth of feeling among young people across the country. Authorities are working to ensure schools can reopen fully as soon as conditions allow, though no timetable has been confirmed.