Students blockaded a high school in northeastern Paris with rubbish bins earlier today, before police moved in with tear gas, as France's nationwide protests showed little sign of ending.
The Hélène Boucher high school emerged as a focal point for clashes in the French capital. It was amongst hundreds of schools disrupted by protests today. Riot police later assembled in side streets as students descended upon the school.
Protests spread across France
Many protesters wore surgical masks or hoodies to avoid identification. At least a dozen demonstrations backing the high school students' movement were scheduled across France today, including a rally at Place de la Bastille in Paris, where tear gas and a water cannon were deployed against protesters.
Police have made more than 6,600 arrests since late September, when students - the majority of them under 18 - launched protests demanding increased education funding, according to the Interior Ministry. The Education Ministry reported that 375 schools were fully or partially shut on Thursday.
Government response
While the number of school closures had decreased compared to Tuesday, pressure is intensifying on the government of outgoing President Emmanuel Macron. The protests against the chronic underfunding of schools - many grappling with crumbling facilities and inadequate staffing - have attracted thugs unconcerned with the aims of the protest movement, as well as unions and political groups.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the "violence, students and staff being attacked, police officers and gendarmes injured, schools set on fire or vandalized, thousands of hours of classes lost, not to mention threats and insults". He criticised "political leaders who use this anger to conduct their electoral battles".
France heads to the polls for a presidential election in April. "We cannot play with the safety of France's youth," Lecornu said.
Student voices
At the Lycee, 18-year-old university student Emma Khelil arrived to show solidarity with those manning the barricades at her former secondary school. She said she was deeply concerned about police violence.
"We're here to defend our rights, not to lose an eye or a hand," Khelil said. She also highlighted insulation issues and water leaks within the school building, adding that she had even seen rats. Her claims were backed up by fellow students who confirmed similar sightings.
She remained unconvinced by Lecornu's attempts to defuse the situation.
"I don't think the movement is going to lose momentum," she said. "As long as things don't change, we're going to see the movement grow stronger, and potentially a convergence of struggles, especially with the next presidential election coming up," she said.
Shortly after she spoke, police moved to surround a nearby square. The crowd pushed forward, and tear gas was deployed.
Rally in Paris
Thick smoke from smouldering rubbish nearby filled the air at Place de la République as hundreds of sixth-form and university students gathered ahead of their march towards Place de la Bastille, the rally's central destination.
Some brandished signs bearing their institutions' names, while others held placards declaring "More money for repression than for our education" and "Who protects us from the police?".
"We're here, we're demonstrating, and we won't stop. Until October, November, December if necessary. Nothing will stop us," said Sofia Ferdials, 18, a student at Paris 8 University.
Dounia Gergeon, a 39-year-old school librarian, revealed she joined the protest at Place de la Bastille out of solidarity with students' concerns and growing worry over a wider crisis affecting young people fearful about their futures. At the secondary school where she works, time was carved out for pupils to voice their grievances.
"They do not feel supported," she said. "They feel cornered and forced to work under these conditions."
Police deployed tear gas and a water cannon against the demonstrators, some of whom launched projectiles at riot officers.
Belgian and Italian protests
France is not alone in grappling with student-led unrest. In Belgium, Willy Demeyer, the mayor of Liège, imposed a ban on public gatherings until midnight on October 16, claiming there was a "real, serious and imminent risk" of further clashes and vandalism. City police reported deploying water cannon and tear gas yesterday to repel several hundred demonstrators.
Authorities issued emergency text alerts, urging shopkeepers to shut their doors amid the unrest. Almost 90 people were arrested and a number of officers sustained injuries. Police reinforcements were dispatched from the capital, Brussels, and from Antwerp, with further backup on the way.
Smaller demonstrations have also taken place in Mons and Charleroi. Belgium's Interior Minister Bernard Quintin took to social media to warn that the "perpetrators will have to answer for their actions before the courts".
The Belgian protests, coordinated via online chat groups, centre on demands for additional teachers and reduced class sizes, alongside grievances over education reform in Belgium, and are also thought to have been inspired by events unfolding in France.
Student demonstrations spread to several Italian cities, albeit on a considerably smaller scale and driven by a wider range of domestic concerns. Activists have openly drawn parallels with the French movement, adopting the slogan "let's do as they do in France", while organising school occupations, assemblies and marches.
In Turin, pupils occupied a number of secondary schools in protest over building conditions, education funding and rising military expenditure. In Rome, students took over one school and staged a walkout at another, while demonstrators in Naples incorporated opposition to a proposed migrant detention centre amongst their demands.
