Fires break out at French schools as students protest nationwide
Student protests across France have escalated into violence, resulting in fires at multiple high schools and numerous arrests. Demonstrators are demanding better school funding, more staff, and improved infrastructure.
Why it matters
The unrest highlights growing social tension in France regarding public service quality and the government's struggle to manage widespread civil disobedience.
Figure caption, Watch: Why are students staging protests at schools in France?
Fires have broken out at several schools in France, as student protests by blockading education institutions nationwide over school funding and studying conditions.
Blazes were reported at two high schools in Nantes, western France, while another was filmed engulfing the entrance to another in the northern city of Rouen.
Students are protesting about a lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings. University students joined the demonstrations on Thursday, citing similar demands.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held a crisis meeting on Thursday to discuss the unrest. The government said afterwards that the student-led demonstrations had descended into "urban violence".
Both fires in Nantes spread after a bin was set alight. The blaze at the Nelson Mandela high school, in the city centre, then spread to the front of the building, damaging the entrance hall.
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