Students blockaded dozens of high schools and universities across France on Tuesday to maintain pressure on the government over education reforms as trade unions prepared for a nationwide strike.
After returning from a two-week autumn break, some students resumed their protest campaign on Monday, calling on authorities to renovate dilapidated schools, reduce class sizes and create more university places.
Authorities said on Tuesday that 48 out of France's 3,700 high schools were blocked amid tight security, including in Paris, Rennes, and Lyon.
The USL student union said 500 establishments were blocked. Fifty-one higher education institutions out of 184 were also disrupted, officials said.
The USL union denounced what it called heavy-handed tactics, with "young people pinned against walls and riot police units deployed" outside schools.
A union representative said authorities appeared to want to blunt a new day of blockades on Thursday when trade unions have called a nationwide strike.
In the northwestern city of Rennes, around 30 students blocked the Brequigny High School, one of the country's largest secondary schools with thousands of students.
'Nothing else worked'
Tensions quickly flared between students and a member of the school administration.
"You are not the majority," the staff member protested.
"If we're doing this, it's because everything we've tried before hasn't worked," a student replied.
At a school in the southwestern city of Toulouse, students brandished placards, one saying "Angry, not far right".
"Young people are sticking it to the education system," read another, in a nod to the lyrics of a popular protest song against the far right.
In eastern Paris, many teachers at the Voltaire School showed solidarity with students by going on strike to protest at what they called a "massive" police presence outside.
The school protests have fuelled a movement against soaring prices and inadequate public services, which has drawn hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets over the past three weekends and led to some of the worst unrest seen in France in years on October 17.
The school movement has inspired students in other European countries, including Italy and Spain, where the French word "blocus" (blockade) has become a hashtag.
Last week, the French government unveiled measures aimed at addressing some of the students' demands, including the replacement of the university admissions platform, which has been criticised for a lack of transparency.
Student leaders say the proposals do not go far enough, demanding 10 billion euros in investment.
'Doing it for France'
With France's economy nearing recession and pressure mounting to cut debt, authorities have little room to address student demands through increased spending.
Student union L'Union Etudiante said more than 50 university campuses were blockaded on Tuesday, affecting one in two universities. At the University of Lille, around 40 students blocked the campus with bicycles and rubbish bins, forcing classes to be cancelled.
"There is a massive national mobilisation under way," said political science student Gauthier Capiez, who hoped the protests would lead to the abolition of the Parcoursup admissions platform.
A first-year master's student in international law said she was worried about her future but believed protesting was necessary.
"I'm doing it for France, and I'm doing it for future students, for my future children if I have any one day," she said.
