Protests disrupted the operation of 375 lycées in France

TASS, citing Franceinfo radio and data from France’s Ministry of Education, reports that the protesters are demanding solutions to problems in the education sector. The ministry calculated that the number of fully closed and partially operating lycées is 30% lower than on Wednesday.

According to the same data, by Thursday morning 94% of lycées across the country had opened fully or partially. The high school protests began in late September in the Île-de-France metropolitan region and quickly escalated into unrest, spreading across all of France.

In some cities, the demonstrations turned into serious clashes between protesters and police. In the commune of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department in the north of the country, one of the participants in the demonstration reportedly had a hand torn off, according to preliminary data.

Since the protests began, gendarmes and police have carried out more than 6,600 detentions, and in 90% of cases those detained were minors.