At least a dozen demonstrations supporting the student movement were also planned across France on Thursday, underlining the widening scale of the protests.
Anger over schools, police response
More than 6,600 people have been arrested since late September, when mostly under-18 students began protesting over education funding and conditions in schools, according to the Interior Ministry. The Education Ministry said 375 schools were fully or partially closed on Thursday.
Protesters carried signs bearing their schools’ names and placards reading “More money for repression than for our education” and “Who protects us from the police?” What began as a nationwide student movement over education funding and poor school conditions has escalated into clashes in the French capital. The Hélène Boucher high school became the latest flashpoint in the unrest as students used rubbish bins to block its entrance and riot police gathered in nearby streets. The confrontation came as hundreds of high school and university students took to the streets in Paris, with a major demonstration planned from Place de la République towards Place de la Bastille. The latest escalation came after days of disruption across France. Many protesters in Paris wore surgical masks or hoodies, apparently to avoid being identified. As the crowd gathered near Hélène Boucher, police surrounded a nearby square and fired tear gas after protesters surged. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu sought to condemn the violence in a televised address, citing attacks on students and staff, injuries to police officers and gendarmes, and schools being set on fire or vandalized. At Place de la République, smoke from burning rubbish hung in the air as students prepared to march towards Bastille.
Students barricaded a high school in northeastern Paris on Thursday, as police fired tear gas as protests showed few signs of easing.