French student protests draw more than 250,000 as clashes continue

More than 250,000 people demonstrated across France on Tuesday as teachers, parents and trade unions joined students demanding greater investment in education, according to the Interior Ministry. Organizers put participation at 450,000, while official figures counted about 56,000 demonstrators in Paris.

The movement began in the Paris region in September and has spread nationwide, closing or blockading hundreds of high schools. Students are calling for more teachers, smaller classes, repairs to deteriorating buildings and changes to the university admissions system.

Although many marches were peaceful, police used tear gas and water cannons against groups involved in clashes in Paris, Strasbourg, Rennes, Toulouse and other cities. The Interior Ministry said nearly 500 people were arrested Tuesday, bringing the total since Sept. 28 to more than 6,500. Government figures said 215 students and more than 700 police officers have been injured during the unrest.

A 15-year-old lost a hand during a confrontation Monday in Lens. Prosecutors said it had not been determined whether he picked up a police grenade or whether it landed near him. Other teenagers have suffered serious injuries, prompting accusations of disproportionate force and 10 internal police investigations. Education Minister Édouard Geffray called the Lens injury a tragedy but said violent groups had infiltrated the demonstrations.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has promised measures and “visible changes” in schools, but the Union Syndicale Lycéenne said the government had offered nothing concrete. Inspired partly by the French protests, hundreds of students also demonstrated in Liège, Belgium, over education costs, overcrowding and access to study materials.