Hundreds detained as student protests across France turn violent

More than 400 people, most of them children, have been detained in France on Tuesday after teenagers across the country blockaded their schools in protest at class sizes, teacher shortages and long timetables.

Interior minister Laurent Nunez told BFM TV: “440 were detained across national territory. We don’t have the final tally yet, but I’m told two-thirds led to police custody.”
The education ministry said 400 schools were affected by protests or disruptions on Tuesday, out of about 3,700 across the country.

The demonstrations began in Paris last week and have since escalated and spread across France. On Tuesday, high school pupils in Lille, northern France, set fire to dustbins and threw bottles, paving stones and other projectiles at police. Officers responded with teargas after protesters vandalised bus shelters and advertising hoardings.