Tens of thousands expected in Paris for student protests
French students, teachers, and parents are protesting nationwide against poor conditions in high schools, including understaffing and building disrepair. The demonstrations have led to significant clashes with police and thousands of arrests, primarily of minors.
Why it matters
The protests represent a significant domestic challenge for President Emmanuel Macron's government amid broader economic instability in France.
Police fired tear gas at protesters blockading French high schools as students, teachers and parents took to the streets on the biggest day of action in a wave of demonstrations against understaffed and dilapidated classrooms.
In Marseille and Nantes, protesters held up signs marked with "The state has killed national education" and other messages, in largely peaceful rallies. In Toulouse, parents linked arms at the front of a march through the city.
But in Strasbourg, Lyon and Rennes, the demonstrations at times turned violent, with police firing tear gas and protesters lighting fires in the streets and hurling projectiles.
"There is such a gap between the elites and us," said Hugo Vetzel, a recent high-school graduate in Strasbourg.
Also covering this story
12 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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