Riot police have clashed with protesters as thousands of students demonstrating over education standards disrupted more than 560 schools in France on Friday.
Fires burned in the streets as high‑school pupils and others objected to a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run‑down buildings.
The protests began last week in Paris and have spread across the country, with cities including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille affected.
French justice minister Gerald Darmanin said the situation had "gone from high‑school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance".
In Belfort, a 17‑year‑old was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after protests there sparked an attack on a police officer. At least 65 staff members have been injured in the unrest, the education ministry stated.
Police in the Paris suburb of Pantin charged at protesters and made arrests after projectiles were thrown at officers. In Strasbourg tear gas was deployed as police feared conditions would become more hostile, according to Reuters.
Rubbish bins were set on fire in Rennes and Paris, and teachers were inadvertently splashed with petrol in Marseille.
"As far as we're concerned, we've won - our school is closed this morning," a 16‑year‑old protester said to AFP, adding that police actions had made things worse and that "the police have no right to hit us or use tear gas on us."
Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes suffered more than €2m (£1.7m) damage, according to the regional government, while the education ministry described the damage to school facilities as "significant."
The movement, which began last week with blockades that spread to hundreds of schools, is driven by students’ complaints of long school hours, too hot classrooms and insufficient staff. The protests come at a crucial time for President Emmanuel Macron, six months before next year’s presidential election, amid planned budget cuts that will affect education funding.
Education minister Édouard Geffray said the movement had been hijacked by non‑students and that teachers had called "the people in front of me were not my students."
Parents are worried that their children have become caught up in a wave of violence. A mother in the Claude Monet school reported looking for her son as the campus closed.
Policymakers called for parental liability for damage caused by children and noted that roughly 2,000 people – most of whom were children – have been taken into custody since the start of the movement. Several French unions, including SNEP‑FSU, SNUEP‑FSU and Solidaires, have voiced support for the protesting students, demanding that children not be subjected to violence.
