Some 400 schools in France are expected to remain closed on Friday after student protests that began over education-related grievances escalated into violence in some places. “There are just over 400 schools and other educational establishments that I know of that will be closed,” French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said in an interview with broadcaster France 2 on Thursday evening. Read moreTransport suspended in some French cities as school protests continue According to a close contact to Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, in a crisis meeting on Thursday, intelligence agencies shared that the protest movement had been started by far-left politicians, including members of France Insoumise (LFI). LFI lawmaker Louis Boyard denied the claim in comments to French broadcasters. Protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings broke out in the Paris region last month, but have become increasingly violent as they spread across the country, with dozens injured and police making hundreds of arrests. Student protesters started fires at at least two high schools on Thursday, while teachers were inadvertently splashed with gasoline at a third in the southern city of Marseille, authorities said. At least one car was set on fire in Strasbourg in the east, and riot police clashed with youths in Toulouse in the southwest. (FRANCE 24 with Reuters)