Students, parents and trade unions are demonstrating across France, in protest at what they say is under-investment in high schools
One union says 2,000 high schools have closed - the government says 891 schools have classes suspended, either totally or partially
In Strasbourg, there were scuffles between police and protesters; in Lyon, a barricade was set on fire; while in Rennes, police used water cannon
In Paris, one 17-year-old tells us she studies in "overcrowded" classes of 35: "We have been fighting for so many things...we still feel like we are not being heard"
But, as Mark Lowen reports from Marseille, it's hard to see how the demands will be met by a government that urgently needs to rein in public spending
In the past week, students have blockaded hundreds of schools with at least 215 injured and more than 5,000 people arrested
The union for secondary school students, which is one of the major organisers of the protest, says 2,000 high schools have shut across the country.
The Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL) also says it has "mobilised" all universities across the country.
The union's figures on school closures differ from those given by the education ministry - which earlier said that 891 schools have had classes suspended, either totally or partially.
Mark Lowen
Reporting from Marseille
Joanna is a university student, but went to high school in a Parisian suburb, where the student protests began.
Asked why she is taking part in demonstrations today, she tells me: "We are protesting for better conditions of learning for our students, high schoolers."
Joanna says there is a lack of teachers and lack of replacements for teachers who are sick, and therefore "we don't have enough teachers to learn".
On the conditions inside her high school, she recalls one incident where a roof fell on some students and says there were also "a lot of floods" and rats, while some students didn't eat because meals were too expensive.
Joanna describes the police response to protesters as "really violent and really aggressive", adding it is "really escalating".
"Police get violent and so people respond with violence."
She says high school pupils have been throwing objects on fire, but claims "if they don't do that they are not heard" and "students don't injure people they injure things".
Nick Beake
Reporting from Lille
In Lille, thousands of people - many of them teenagers - have arrived at Place de la République, which is supposed to be the end point of this protest march.
A brass band has just started up and is pumping music out across the street. There are dozens of police officers in riot gear at the corners of the square, some of them standing in front of the government building of the Lille Préfecture.
"Everyone hates the police" is the chant that one large group of children are joining in.
Along the route, some protesters told us how they feared officers would be violent towards them today.
When I later pointed out lots of teachers and emergency service workers have also been injured over the past week or so, the response is that only a tiny minority of those protesting have been violent.
There is chanting and clapping. A red haze of smoke has drifted across one of the entry points from which hundreds more students continue to arrive.
Some young people are dressed in black with their faces covered. It’s noisy and animated but there are no obvious signs there will be disorder.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesMasked men throw things towards riot police in Lyon
The wave of student protests that has swept France continues. People are rallying for better conditions in schools - pointing to teacher shortages, overcrowding, and dilapidated buildings.
With France's largest union turning out today, the movement shows no sign of abating - here's what is happening.
Madeleine Lake
Live reporter
Image source, Phoebe NilorPhoebe holds a banner that reads: "Teenagers killed, tear-gassed and drowned instead of being listened to"
In the Paris suburbs of Noisy-le-Grand, Phoebe Nilor has been protesting. She says life in school is "difficult" because of overcrowding and a lack of desks.
The 17-year-old has been livestreaming the protests on TikTok, and tells me she has been peacefully demonstrating.
"We peacefully demonstrated for our rights and to demand better working conditions, because we are in classes of 35 students, which is completely overcrowded. We have been fighting for so many things, and to this day, we still feel like we are not being heard."
She says the level of police violence during protests has been "really upsetting" and says she feels "disgusted" that the government is using "so much force" against young people.
While many demonstrations are said to be proceeding peacefully, the government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since they started.
Hugh Schofield
Paris Correspondent
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesIn Paris, 100 or more students are protesting in the streets
From early this morning, 100 or more students from the Lycée Sophie-Germain in central Paris blockaded their building with wheelie bins and crowd-control barriers, and in a party atmosphere chanted slogans and songs targeting the government, the far-right and the police.
Afterwards they moved off to the Place de la République where a protest march is now getting under way - the students joined by delegations from trade-unions and left-wing political parties.
There is of course a big contingent of police stationed all around, ready to intervene in the event of vandalism or fire-raising.
On all sides there’s hope that this more structured form of protest – a march down an authorised route – will prove more easy to control than ad hoc outbreaks outside schools.
France's interior ministry estimates about 86,000 protesters have taken to the streets across France on Tuesday, not including the Paris region, Reuters reports.
The Paris protest is due to start now - at 14:00 local time (13:00 BST), according to organisers, with authorities expecting between 20,000 to 40,000 people to attend.
In Rennes, a city in north-western France, riot police can be seen using water cannon during clashes on the sidelines of a demonstration, in pictures from news agency AFP - while some people try to protect themselves with umbrellas.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesHugh Schofield
Paris Correspondent
Image source, ReutersA riot police officer aims a crowd-control weapon during a student demonstration in Lyon
The French police - like all forces - have various "non-lethal" crowd-control weapons at their disposal. These are often criticised by the left and human rights groups for being dangerous and unsuitable for use against teenagers.
The most controversial are the Grenade à Main de Désencerclement (GMD) and the Lanceur de Balles de Défense (LBD). The first in English means Anti-encirclement Hand Grenade, and the second Defence Ball Launcher.
GMDs - often called sting-balls in English - are thrown by police along the ground. They create a loud bang and send out small fragments of rubber.
LBDs - which used to be called Flashballs after an early trademark - fire rubber projectiles from a gun.
The boy who lost his hand in Lens on Monday was injured by a GMD. The investigation will determine whether he tried to pick it up or was hit by the grenade.
An LBD has been blamed for another serious injury - a boy who lost his eye in Tours last week. During the Gilet Jaune riots of 2018-2019, LBDs were blamed for a lot of facial injuries to protesters.
In addition French riot police fire tear gas canisters, which can cause trauma if they make contact with a human body.
The interior ministry says the weapons are only used as a proportionate response to events that risk getting out of control.
Protesters have been clashing with police riot officers in Lyon, a major city some 466km (290 miles) southeast of Paris, where officers can be seen in full tactical gear and using crowd-control weapons.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to march today across Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Lyon and Paris.
Image source, ReutersFrench police officers pictured with a burning street barricade in Lyon
Image source, ReutersAn officer fires a crowd-control weapon during a demonstration in Lyon
Image source, ReutersA protester holds a sign reading: "Our high schools are crumbling, our days are getting longer, the budget is shrinking, and we’re supposed to stay silent?"
Image source, ReutersFireworks explode near police officers during Lyon protests
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, AFPAlmost 900 high schools have faced disruption today, the education ministry says
The wave of protests started with15 to 18-year-old lycéens and has now spread to their parents, university students and the biggest union, the CGT.
The main question is whether today's demos, culminating soon in the centre of Paris and dubbed "Act Three" in the school movement, will mark a climax. Once these protests have died down, will the government be able to say it has done enough to tackle the core demands?
With presidential elections only seven months away, Sébastien Lecornu's government may struggle to quell the unrest, because along with the demands to tackle under-funding in education there is a highly politicised mood and widespread shock at the level of violence.
More than 700 police officers have been hurt, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has spoken of unprecedented "urban violence", particularly towards teachers and security forces. More than 6,000 people have been arrested, he says.
But 215 teenagers have also been injured, and on the left and among human rights groups there is talk of a "disproportionate" police response.
With hundreds of schools disrupted, it does not yet sound as if the lycéens are ready to stop.
There are 891 schools across France which have had their classes suspended, either totally or partially, amid the ongoing protests, multiple French outlets are reporting citing figures from the Education Ministry.
As a reminder, high school students' union the Union Syndicale Lycéenne claimed earlier today that 1,800 high schools and 90% of universities are currently blockaded or closed.
France's national human rights institution has published a statement calling on the government to strengthen dialogue with protesters.
The National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) expressed "serious concern" about the "disproportionate use of force and procedural abuses", insisting that the state's response to unrest should remain targeted and proportionate.
It has asked the government to adopt a de-escalation strategy and says the right of children to express their views freely must be guaranteed.
Nick Beake
Reporting from Lille
Lea (L), Elodie (M), and Anne (R) hold signs in support of "our children" and "the students of today and tomorrow"
The focus of these protests in France has been secondary schools, but today buildings of Lille University are barricaded as students and lecturers join the cause of the teenagers.
There are parents here too. We’ve just spoke to Lea, Elodie, and Anne.
They say their kids are not yet of high school age but already they’re worried about the long school days they will soon face. A typical school day starts around 08:30, and some teachers we've spoken to say it can run to 18:00.
A march has just set off. Several hundred people are now passing through the streets.
Student protests are continuing for another day around France, with streets across the country packed out.
There have been scuffles with police in some areas - including in Strasbourg, in north-east France. News agency Reuters reports that fire crackers are being thrown at police officers there.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersMark Lowen and Pierre-Antoine Denis
in Marseille
Coline, a student in Marseille, says some people go too far but violence can be legitimate
We've been speaking to students in Marseille, southern France, where more protests have been taking place this morning.
They include Coline, who spoke to us about her anger towards the education system - as well as the police.
She says she’s fed up with empty promises from the French government, and seeing the degradation of the schools she’s studying in, as well as seeing an increase in pupils in each classroom.
When asked about the violence, she says that while some people go too far, violence can be legitimate "given how they treat us".
But she also mentioned something we've heard from protesters all morning - they don't want this to be seen as a political protest.
Far-left presidential hopeful Jean Luc Melenchon is accused by the government of adding fuel to the fire by supporting this movement.
Coline, and many others here and across France, welcomes the support, but says it is first and foremost a student protest about their day-to-day lives.
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesAnti-riot police face protesters on Thursday outside a school in Le Corbusier, northern Paris
It started last month as a smattering of protests at schools in the Paris region rallying for better conditions.
The cause was then taken up by France's union for secondary school students - which last Tuesday co-ordinated a nationwide blockade of schools.
But in some places, these protests escalated into disorder and violence. Several schools were set on fire, teenagers suffered eye injuries, and one lost his teeth in a skirmish. Police were also injured.
It had reached such a pitch by Thursday that the government called a crisis meeting with its intelligence agencies, and the education minister declared on Friday that the protests had been "hijacked".
Image source, Anadolu via Getty ImagesDemonstrators clashed with police officers during a student protest in Nancy on Monday
As peaceful protests have continued, so has the disorder. A 15-year-old's hand was blown off on Monday, reportedly by a sting-ball grenade.
Some have also raised concerns about heavy-handed policing, including Amnesty International which late on Monday called for an end to the "disproportionate police response seen in recent days".
The French Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, said late on Monday that 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality had been launched since protests began, AFP reported.
Image source, EPAFrance's Prime Minister has ordered ministers to address protesters' demands
France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has ordered his ministers to tackle the students' leading demands in an attempt to quell the protests.
These include ensuring absent teachers are replaced, reviewing the length of the 10-hour school day and the need for longer lunch breaks.
Lecornu has said the government will also look at repairing ageing school buildings and has given ministers until the end of October to come up with their first proposals.
On Monday, France's education ministry launched a national consultation for high school students to share their suggestions for improving their schooling.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray said it was essential "to take into account the diversity of their (pupils') school experiences" and the consultation will allow the government "to listen to their proposals and to build concrete solutions with them".
Mark Lowen
Reporting from Marseille
Teacher Eric Loizeau says weeks of staff absence go by at his school until supply teachers are brought in
Thousands have gathered here in central Marseille, walking down the Canebière Avenue towards the old port, waving union flags and holding banners supporting the students’ demands.
Eric Loizeau, a high school teacher, told me weeks of staff absence go by at his school until supply teachers are brought in, and that the 160-year-old building is dilapidated and unbearably hot in a rapidly warming Mediterranean summer.
Marseille is often a part of France where social unrest comes to a head - a culturally diverse melting pot, with pockets of extreme social deprivation.
Violence has flared here since the student protest movement began.
For now at least, it’s defiant but peaceful. And it’s hard to see how the movement’s demands will be met by a government that urgently needs to rein in public spending - and as a polarised nation stands just six months away from a defining presidential election.
Demonstrations are taking place in more than 30 locations across France today, according to L'Union Étudiante, which helped organise today's protests.
People will take to the streets in cities including Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Lyon and Paris, where up to 40,000 people are expected to march on Tuesday.
As we've been reporting, pupils have already been gathering in the city of Lille in northern France ahead of a demonstration planned there at 12:00 local time (11:00 BST).
