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 for the afternoon and take part in a demonstration.
"I will miss two classes," she says.
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 force parents
Thousands of people gathered on Tuesday afternoon at Place Garibaldi in central Nice to protest. Among the participants were several unions and political parties, including the left-wing populist Unbridled France (LFI). Parents' organizations have also supported the students' demands and are calling on parents and teachers to demonstrate.
One of them is Céline Gialis from the FCPE (French Federation of Parents' Councils).
"We have been asking for more resources for schools for a long time, but no one has listened. Now it is the students themselves who are speaking out, and we support them," she says.
Gialis believes that reports of violence have been exaggerated in the media.
There is too much focus on the violence and not on what the students have to say.
Relatively few high school students are among the protesters at Place Garibaldi.
Stricter measures
22-year-old Inez Bentrad has come here to protest against right-wing extremism and the rising cost of living.
The protests began in high schools, but now adults and students are gathering to protest together against fascism and right-wing extremism ahead of the upcoming presidential election, she says.
Nice mayor Éric Ciotti, a member of parliament from the conservative Republicans, 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 commit vandalism to pay for the damage, according to French media.
