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Student protests and school blockades have spread across France, with more than 400 people detained as high school students demonstrated over deteriorating conditions in the country’s education system.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, 440 people were detained on Tuesday, September 29, most of them minors. About two-thirds of those detained were reportedly placed in police custody.
The protests, which began in the Paris region last week, have now spread to cities across the country.
Students are protesting overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, long timetables and inadequate school facilities, including concerns over overheated classrooms during recent heatwaves.
France’s Education Ministry said protests or disruptions affected around 400 of the country’s 3,700 high schools on Tuesday, with dozens of schools blockaded.
The demonstrations turned violent in some areas. Students in Lille and other cities reportedly set fire to rubbish bins and threw bottles, stones and other objects at police.
Officers responded with tear gas and batons. Authorities said 48 law-enforcement officers were injured during the clashes.
Nuñez said there were also seven incidents involving hydrochloric acid being thrown at police officers.
The student protests coincided with a broader nationwide strike by public-sector workers over the government’s proposed budget measures.
Teachers and other public employees have joined demonstrations against planned spending cuts and salary policies.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has acknowledged concerns over conditions in schools while condemning violent incidents during the protests.