Horrifying footage shows the moment a firefighter was engulfed by flames during protests in France. The video shows a burning object on a street in Bordeaux during demonstrations over proposed budget cuts. The firefighter is seen approaching the item before it explodes in front of him. He is engulfed in flames but is able to run to safety.
Protests spread to schools
The protests come as the French government is set to unveil its 2027 budget on Thursday, with heavy spending cuts anticipated. Demonstrations against the cuts have been taking place in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille, with many young people blocking entrance to schools.
France's education minister Edouard Geffray said 200 people in total had been injured in the demonstrations, while interior minister Laurent Nunez said 440 people, mostly minors, were arrested over the high school protests on Tuesday alone. He said there were seven incidents in which people threw hydrochloric acid at police.
Political reaction
French president Emmanuel Macron has criticised the violence but said that difficulties in high schools should be acknowledged. 'High schools are meant to be open and to share knowledge. They are not meant to be blockaded or to have trash cans set on fire,' he said.
Bally Bagayoko, mayor of Paris suburb Saint-Denis, sparked outrage after being shown dancing with demonstrators outside a school. Politicians from France Unbowed, led by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have been leading several of the protests. Paris Police Prefecture has filed a complaint against Mr Bagayoko for 'incitement to commit a crime'.
Student voices
Protester Gamze, a 17-year-old student in Saint-Denis, said she was protesting because students in the working-class suburb were treated unfairly. 'It's always us… who are suffering when, in Paris or in the countryside, they're not in such a situation,' she told Reuters.
