Mass school protests begin in France after days of clashes

Mass protests by high school and university students demanding greater investment in French schools are under way, with a coalition of some of the largest unions joining them.

Adults, including parents and union activists, are gathered wearing white armbands to support the teenagers with the "aim of creating a buffer zone", local media reports.

Students have been blockading hundreds of schools with 215 young people and 715 police officer hurt over the last week and more than 6,000 people arrested.

Outrage escalated after a student had his hand blown off during a confrontation on Monday. Earlier on during the wave of protest another student was struck in the head by a tear gas canister.

The incident happened in the northern city of Lens after mixed reports he either picked up a stun grenade fired by riot police or had it fired near him.

Minister of National Education Édouard Geffray told France Info on Tuesday: "I want to express my thoughts for this young man. Our absolute priority is to protect our students. This is obviously a tragedy".

However, Geffray added there was "extreme violence within these movements".

"From the beginning, I have called for dialogue, not for encouraging blockades. From the very first days, ultraviolent elements infiltrated the high school student movements... and behaving inexcusably."

Vice President of the student union organisation Les Lycéens Louis Letoublon responded on France Info, saying Geffray "has listened, he must now take action".

A coalition of national unions, including France's largest the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), have called for students to take to the streets in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and about 30 other cities.

France's prime minister said on Monday the government had announced measures to address student demands, but the Union Syndicale Lycéenne (USL), a major organiser of the protests, said the government had offered "nothing concrete".

Some other organisations have also shown their support for the students, with the teachers' union SNES-FSU urging its members to join Tuesday's protest.

The radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon described the protests as the "most powerful high school and university student youth movement" since 1968 - a year of major unrest, which saw millions of workers go on strike.

The wave of demonstrations began in September in Paris and has spread across the country, with students protesting over a range of issues, including overcrowded classrooms, run-down buildings, and a lack of teachers.

The protests were started by high school students, who were later joined by university students.