120 schools were closed in areas that have reported the largest numbers of Coronavirus infections, French officials stated.
Both primary and secondary schools have been shut in the Oise department north of Paris, where the main cluster of French cases has emerged, and where two people who have died of the virus lived.
Officials have reported 191 Coronavirus cases in France so far, and three deaths.
The Oise closures are affecting about 35,000 pupils, Blanquer told LCI television, while an additional 9,000 have been told to stay home in the Morbihan department of Brittany on the Atlantic coast.
One class of some 20 students has been suspended in Montreuil, a suburb just east of Paris, after a pupil tested positive for the virus, Blanquer said.
The Oise schools will remain closed until further notice, while Morbihan authorities have ordered doors shut until at least March 14.
“These figures are evolving quickly,” Blanquer said, adding: “There could be similar measures taken in the coming days” at other schools.
Authorities have already halted all class trips outside the country, and prohibited any gatherings of more than 5,000 people in enclosed spaces.
