Fires have broken out at several schools in France, as student protests by blockading education institutions nationwide over school funding and studying conditions. Blazes were reported at two high schools in Nantes, western France, while another was filmed engulfing the entrance to another in the northern city of Rouen. Students are protesting about a lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.
University students joined the demonstrations on Thursday, citing similar demands. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held a crisis meeting on Thursday to discuss the unrest. The government said afterwards that the student-led demonstrations had descended into "urban violence".
Both fires in Nantes spread after a bin was set alight. The blaze at the Nelson Mandela high school, in the city centre, then spread to the front of the building, damaging the entrance hall. In the southern city of Marseille, staff at Victor Hugo high school were splashed with petrol as protesters reportedly filled containers.
While in the north, a headteacher at Degrugillier high school, in the village of Auchel, was injured in the ear by a wayward firework. The blockades and protests at French lycées - for 15-18 year olds and equivalent to sixth forms in the UK or high schools in the US - began last week before spreading to hundreds of schools across the country. French media report 625 people were arrested on Wednesday alone while 83 police officers were injured.
More than 600 arrests had been made by midday on Thursday, excluding Paris, broadcaster ICI reports. At least 30 universities have also reportedly been blockaded, including campuses in Rennes and Paris. On Thursday, public transport services in Marseille and Strasbourg were halted due vandalism, threats of violence and to hinder protesters from moving around.
Seventeen-year-old Raphael took part in protests outside a school in Strasbourg, where barriers were used to obstruct nearby tram tracks. He voiced his frustration at his school's facilities in an interview with news agency AFP, saying some rooms had leaks and that there were not enough toilets. "The building is falling apart, the cafeteria is too small.
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