France's prime minister convened a crisis meeting on Thursday and cancelled ministers' trips to focus on the nationwide spread of protests, some violent, by high school students venting against under-resourced schools, long hours and other complaints, AP reported.
The demonstrations erupted in Paris-region schools last week and have snowballed, with police making hundreds of arrests in clashes with the young protesters. Authorities have reported many dozens of injuries, including from hurled objects but also, in some suspected cases, from police riot-control projectiles.
Election campaign pressure
The protests are quickly blowing up as a hot topic in the election campaign to replace president Emmanuel Macron next May and heightening pressure on the government also beset by France's growing financial problems.
The office of prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said he asked ministers to cancel any planned official trips in the coming days, to enable authorities and police to focus on dealing with the demonstrations.
Student blockades and clashes
Student blockades have been reported outside schools, including Lycée Fénelon in Paris, with masked protesters throwing garbage bins into fires set up by high school and university students in streets amid clashes with French riot police in Saint-Denis near Paris.
Clashes have occurred between riot police and demonstrators during protests against education conditions, and students have burned garbage to demand more resources for school in Lille. Anti-riot police officers have stood guard as protesting students carried out blockading action outside the vocational high school of image and sound Suger in Saint-Denis, northern Paris.
