Nocturnal 
More than 500 of France’s 3,700 secondary schools were disrupted on Friday as student protests over classroom conditions spread across the country, with the education ministry confirming at least 65 staff members have been injured.
Riot police were deployed in several cities as demonstrations that began in Paris earlier this week escalated into clashes, with burning barricades reported in Pantin and bins set alight in the capital.
France’s justice minister, Gerald Darmanin, said the situation had moved beyond simple student demonstrations. “We have gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance,” he said.
Why are students protesting?
The protests are rooted in anger over a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and rundown school buildings. One 16-year-old protester in Paris told the BBC, “We are angry,” adding that it’s “not normal” that there are 40 students in one classroom at a time.
Laëtitia Degeuse, a youth centre director, described overcrowded classrooms, unsanitary facilities and teacher shortages as the current state of education in France.
The BBC’s digital Europe editor described some of the violence as “truly shocking”, reporting that teenagers had suffered eye injuries, with one losing his teeth in the unrest. There are also concerns the protests have been hijacked by outside vandals, referred to in France as casseurs.
Clashes haven’t been limited to protesters versus police either. One video reviewed by BBC reporters showed a student trying to put out a burning bin before being charged at by another group, suggesting demonstrators themselves are divided over the direction the protests have taken.
Who’s being blamed?
The French government has pointed the finger at the radical left party La France Insoumise, with one minister claiming the young protesters are “being instrumentalised by the far left”.
LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon has rejected the accusation, insisting the protests are “self-organised” rather than directed by his party.
The disagreement over who is driving the unrest adds another layer of tension to a situation that authorities are still working to bring under control.
What happens now?
The unrest shows little sign of dying down. France’s biggest trade unions have called on members to join a fresh protest on 6 October, raising the prospect of further disruption to schools and city centres.
In an apparent attempt to ease tensions, the government is launching a consultation platform on Monday, inviting students to set out what difficulties they’re facing and what changes they want to see.
For now, fires continue to burn in parts of the country and clashes between demonstrators and riot police are ongoing, with no clear end in sight to a week of unrest that has shut hundreds of schools and left dozens of staff injured.
