French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called an emergency cabinet meeting on Thursday as student protests over school conditions escalated into what the government described as “urban violence,” with hundreds of schools affected and thousands of teenagers detained. The demonstrations, initially concentrated in the Paris region last week, have spread nationwide, prompting the government to warn that many schools would move to online teaching to protect students and staff.

French high school students lit fires outside schools and faced off with police on Friday as a protest movement that has forced the closure or disrupted education at more than 560 establishments showed…

French student organisations and education unions have called for another nationwide mobilisation on Tuesday as protests over conditions in schools continue across the country.High-school and...