France will shut all schools from tomorrow morning until Friday because of the protests and unrest, prime minister Sébastien Lecornu told lawmakers in the National Assembly.
Since the protests began, 215 students and 85 school staff have been hurt, he said.
Lecornu condemned without reservation the "extreme violence", which he said is now "knocking on the door of high schools".
Closing schools will give every school leadership team and every head teacher time for internal democratic dialogue at the schools, the prime minister said.