Student protests force France to close hundreds of high schools

France will suspend classes in as many as 500 high schools as student protests over school conditions spread nationwide and turned violent.

• Education Minister Édouard Geffray said classes would be suspended fully or partially in 400 to 500 high schools, with 24 schools burned or looted.
• French authorities said more than 5,000 people had been arrested since the protests began September 17, about 85 percent of them minors.
• Geffray said 78 education workers were injured in the unrest.
• Protest organizers called for protests to continue Tuesday, saying the government had taken no "concrete measures."
• A 15-year-old student's hand was severed by a police grenade during clashes with police.
• The opposition condemned the government's 'security crackdown', while authorities described the events as 'urban violence'.
• Protest organizers announced a new round of demonstrations under the banner 'Act Three'.
• French authorities reported at least 190 students have been injured in the protests since September 17.
• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced measures to address protesters' demands but pledged no concessions to violence.
• Jean-Luc Mélenchon said the movement is the most powerful student protest France has seen since 1968.