French high school students take to streets over long hours, crumbling schools

400 schools erupt over long class hours, poor conditions

Police crack down as blockades and fires spread

440 arrested as unions weigh joining the unrest

A student walks past a burning bicycle near Baggio High School in Lille, France, on Tuesday (local time), as protests against the government's draft budget for next year swept across the country. [AP]

High school students across France have taken to the streets to protest public education conditions, setting fires and blockading schools in clashes that have left both students and police injured. French authorities have gone on high alert as school operations are thrown into disarray, while politicians are watching closely to see whether the student demonstrations will draw in labor unions.

Students from Baggio High School knock over a traffic light as they block a road in Lille, France, on Tuesday (local time), protesting the government's draft budget for next year. [AP]

High school students staged fierce protests at hundreds of schools across France on Tuesday (local time), squaring off with police in multiple locations, according to AFP and The Guardian.

In the northern city of Lille, masked students gathered in front of schools and set trash cans ablaze, smashed bus stops and billboards, and hurled chunks of pavement and bottles at police. In the western city of Nantes, students stacked dozens of trash cans to blockade school entrances.

Protests also broke out in Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon. Students have particularly voiced frustration over class hours, overcrowded classrooms and a shortage of teachers, and expressed anger that classrooms were left to overheat during this summer's heat waves.

At one school in Paris, 80 students gathered and chanted: "Our class hours are longer than our sleep hours."

Police responded with tear gas and batons. By the end of the day, around 440 people had been arrested, and injuries were reported on both sides.

Students hold signs reading "No fascism at home" during a protest in Paris on Tuesday (local time) against the government's budget proposal for next year. [AP]

The unrest began last week in districts around Paris before spreading rapidly, reaching 400 of France's 3,700 schools. Of those, 40 were fully blockaded and another 44 faced attempted blockades.

At one school near Paris, teachers formed a human chain around students to shield them from police.

French education authorities condemned the protests as acts of violence and vowed a firm response. Education Minister Edouard Geffray wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "legal proceedings have been initiated" over the incidents, adding that "this violence is indescribably serious."

He warned that "justifying this or encouraging blockades puts students and public institution staff in danger. It is irresponsible."

A firefighter holds a flare during a nationwide strike in Paris on Tuesday (local time). [EPA]

Firefighters demonstrate in Paris on Tuesday (local time) against the government's draft budget for next year. [AP]

Politicians are also watching the fallout closely.

The protests are unfolding amid a wave of union demonstrations and strikes against a budget pushed by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron. Union marches have continued in major cities including Paris, and nationwide, 10 percent of teachers have joined the strike.

Victoire, a 16-year-old who joined the protests, said students from outlying areas like hers feel "abandoned and neglected," and described conditions at her school as "unsanitary."

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