At least 400 of France's 3,700 public high schools were closed on Friday, October 2, as a student protest movement over crowded classrooms and missing teachers turned violent in parts of the country, the Education Ministry said. About 560 schools reported protests or disruptions.

The protests began at high schools around Paris the week before and spread nationwide. Students, many wearing masks, blockaded schools, lit fires in the streets and clashed with police.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said about 2,000 people had been arrested since the protests began, roughly two-thirds of them held in police custody. He said an active and violent minority was involved and that authorities were not sure all of them were high school students.

“When people target buses and set schools on fire, it is no longer simply a protest issue,” he told RTL radio.

France has a large Haitian community, especially in the Paris region, and many Haitian families have children in the affected schools.