"We have been protesting for three weeks. At first, we just wanted to press our demands, but now we are also here because the police fire tear gas at us every day and humiliate us," Lina, 19, and Rita, 18, told Le Monde on site in Marseille.
The government has tried various ways to calm the situation, but not enough, the student union USL has concluded.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray has, among other things, promised to urgently deploy 3,000 substitute teachers to the high schools most in need. The effort has already begun.
Violence was reported in some parts of Paris on Tuesday. Le Parisien reports that tear gas grenades were thrown on Boulevard Saint-Michel, a car was set on fire on Boulevard des Invalides, and black-clad protesters looted and vandalized a wine shop in another part of the city.
Thunberg participates
Greta Thunberg was on site and spoke about young people’s rights to protesters outside the Paul-Éluard high school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
"Young people are not included in the conversation. We are being robbed of our future," she said, according to AFP.
As before, parents and teachers are also participating, including Tristan Mattelart, a university lecturer in communication studies.
I am here to be available to my students, to prevent the situation from getting out of hand and to protect them if necessary, he tells Le Figaro.
Data: Nearly half a million
Student organizations said Tuesday that a total of 480,000 people nationwide were taking part in the day’s protests. The Interior Ministry said the figure was 161,500 - also a significant increase from last week, when the ministry said 71,500 people had demonstrated.
According to the student organization L'Union étudiante, nearly 90 percent of the country’s 70 state universities are blocked or closed.
Just over 200 schools are also closed, according to the Ministry of Education, which also says violence is increasing and that "at least eight education system employees" were injured on Monday.
The protesters are demanding more resources for high schools, a fundamental overhaul of the education system, and the scrapping of the admissions system, which they consider to contribute to inequality.
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