More than 400 schools affected by blockades and protests in France

ANDthis mobilization demands more substitute teachers, better working conditions of school buildings and teaching.

In all, 413 schools were affected today, a number representing a 27% drop compared to 564 on Friday morning and 32% against 610 registered on Thursday.

The authorities stressed that 40% of the schools affected this Monday had not previously recorded incidents, which, in their opinion, suggests an attempt to extend the movement to other schools.

France has 3,700 secondary schools.

In addition to school blockades, protests were accompanied by fires, material damage and clashes with security forces, which were repeated this Monday in some schools in cities such as Paris and Toulouse, among others.

The prosecutor decided today to prolong the preventive arrest of a 16-year-old student suspected of throwing gasoline at a teacher during a student protest on Friday in La Ciotat, in southern France, according to BFMTV.

In Aix-en-Provence, also in the south of France, another 17-year-old student was arrested today for alleged involvement in an assault during Thursday's protests.

The minor, who had no criminal record, is accused of throwing a stone that struck a woman about 50 years old in the eye, causing loss of sight as a result of the injury.

The student protests, which began in mid-September in the outskirts of Paris, gained strength in recent days and spread to other parts of France, accompanied by clashes with police and school damage.

Authorities, who claim to have held about 5,000 people since the beginning of the protests, approximately 85% of whom were minors, and reported 24 burned or damaged schools and 78 injured education officials.

The government fears that the demonstrations called for Tuesday may lead to more violence, especially if it spreads to universities, after more than 30 were affected last week.

The French government will present to the Senate a bill that obliges those responsible for the damage caused during the protests to bear the costs of repairs, today announced the spokesperson of the executive, Maud Bregeon.

Trade unions and social organizations accuse the government of using excessive force against minors to suppress claims they consider legitimate, while five internal investigations examine police actions.

The Human Rights League today denounced a trend that it considered concerning the rule of law, while the government accused the leftist party La France Insumise of promoting tension on electoral grounds six months before the first round of the French presidential elections.