Mélisande, who does not want to give her last name, is in her final year of high school at Lycée Massena in central Nice. Unlike many schools in France, her school is open on Tuesday, but she supports the protests and has decided to skip classes in the afternoon to take part in a demonstration.
"I will miss two classes," she says.
A neglected system?
Friends of the same age, Virgil and Abderhmane, whom TT meets outside the school, agree that French schools lack resources.
The education system is neglected, there is a shortage of teachers and the food is sometimes lousy, says 16-year-old Virgil.
But they wish the protests - which have spread across France and led to destruction, tear gas and thousands of arrests - were more peaceful.
"I think the demonstrations are good, but it would be better if people protested peacefully - not attacking the police, burning trash cans and even attacking teachers. That's not how we will make ourselves heard, quite the opposite," says Abderhmane.
Want to hold parents responsible
In Nice, parents' organizations have backed the students' demands and are also calling on parents and teachers to demonstrate. Some unions and political groups have also joined in.
The city's mayor, conservative Republican MP Éric Ciotti, has announced that he wants to see stricter measures against protesters who commit vandalism. He plans to introduce a new bill that would require parents of young people who vandalize to pay for the damage, according to media reports.
