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Demonstrations swept across France as labor unions joined high school students protesting understaffing, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings.
Marches were held in more than 40 cities, from Caen in the north to Marseille in the south, with teachers, parents, university students and activists joining the protests. The movement has spread to hundreds of schools after two weeks of student blockades.
The French Interior Ministry estimated that about 256,000 people took part in Tuesday’s demonstrations nationwide, while a major labor union put the figure at more than twice that number.
In Paris, thousands of university students, parents, teachers and union members joined high school students in a large rally at Place de la Nation. Protesters carried placards criticizing the government, police violence and the far-right National Rally party.
Tensions rose at the Paris demonstration as some protesters clashed with police. Others called for demonstrators to sit down, while chants including “we are all antifascists” and the anti-police slogan “ACAB” were heard.
Police continued to encircle parts of Place de la Nation but pulled back from the center, allowing several hundred young protesters to return. Some stood on a bench with a megaphone, leading chants and the national anthem.
The protests have also spread to neighbouring Belgium, where high school students in the south have demonstrated for several days against education budget cuts announced by the regional government.
In Liège, police intervened several times on Tuesday afternoon to disperse protesters after the gatherings had remained peaceful earlier in the day.
“The demonstration is still ongoing, with clashes and acts of vandalism,” local police spokesperson Jadranka Lozina said in a statement at around 6:30 p.m. local time.
The unrest comes as growing numbers of students and education workers demand increased staffing, better facilities and greater government investment in schools.
