The Interior Ministry said 71,500 people joined Thursday's high-school protests, 24,500 of them in Paris. Some marches saw clashes, a school ransacking in Saint-Etienne and an arson attack on a Bordeaux police station.
French teenagers blockaded some high schools and marched in cities on Thursday in a third week of protests over conditions in schools. The Interior Ministry said 71,500 people took part, including 24,500 in the main Paris demonstration around Bastille square, Reuters reported.
The Paris march was mostly peaceful, with occasional evening clashes between small groups and police, Reuters said. Elsewhere, police said a school in Saint-Etienne was ransacked and arsonists attacked a police station in Bordeaux. AFP, carried by Mediapart, reported 504 arrests and 48 injured police officers and gendarmes.
The protests come six months before a presidential election in which Emmanuel Macron cannot seek a third term. Reuters said Marine Le Pen has pointed to school damage and spending cuts, while Jean-Luc Melenchon has praised the protesters and denounced police brutality.
An Elabe poll for BFM TV, cited by Reuters, found 72 percent of respondents thought the students' demands were legitimate and 55 percent thought the protests should stop. Those are poll findings, not a count of participants.
No new government concession was specified in the Reuters report. The ministry's turnout figure is the official count for Thursday, not an independent estimate.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Jean-Luc Melenchon praised the protesters and denounced police brutality, Reuters reported.
- An Elabe poll cited by Reuters found 72 percent thought the students' demands were legitimate and 55 percent thought the protests should stop.