Riot police clash with students as education protests rage in France

32 minutes agoDan SalesEPA/ShutterstockHigh school students face off against Riot police during a protest in MontpellierRiot police have clashed with protesters as thousands of students demonstrating over education standards disrupted more than 700 schools in France on Friday.Fires have burned in the streets as high school pupils and others objected to a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.The protests began last week in the capital Paris and have spread across the country, with cities including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille affected.French justice minister Gerald Darmanin said things had "gone from high-school student demonstrations to a public order disturbance".On Friday, a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after protests in Belfort, north-eastern France, where a police officer was targeted.BBC Verify has now authenticated two videos that show the man, who was later identified as an officer by a minister, being beaten up near a school in Belfort. In the graphic footage, a group of young men are seen chasing him. The officer falls to the ground, and is subsequently punched and kicked multiple times in the head.At least 65 staff members have been injured in the unrest, the education ministry said.In the Paris suburb of Pantin police charged at protesters and made arrests after projectiles where thrown at officers.Meanwhile, in Strasbourg tear gas was deployed as police feared conditions would become more hostile, according to the Reuters news agency.Rubbish bins have also been set on fire in Rennes and Paris."As far as we're concerned, we've won - our school is closed this morning," Lola, a 16-year-old protester, told the AFP news agency on Friday.She said police actions had made things worse."It makes us even angrier - the police have no right to hit us or use tear gas on us," she added.Police published pictures of some of the items they had seized from demonstrators, including petrol bombs, an axe and so-called mortar fireworks. "Significant damage" had been done to school facilities, the education ministry said, after attacks on school gates, entrances and fences.Nelson Mandela high school in Nantes suffered more than €2m (£1.7m) damage, according to the regional government, after fire destroyed its glass entrance and some areas inside the school.ReutersFrench firefighters put out a burning barricades during protests in AubervilliersThe blockades and protests started last week before spreading to hundreds of schools across the country.Students say school hours are too long, classrooms too hot and too many members of staff are off work.It comes at a crucial time for French President Emmanuel Macron, six months before next year's presidential election.Budget cuts planned, which will impact on education funding, have infuriated the young protesters.French Education Minister Édouard Geffray said on Friday that the movement had been hijacked by non-students.He told French broadcaster BFMTV that teachers had said "the people in front of me were not my students".Parents have also been worried that their children have become caught up in a wave of violence and unrest.At the Claude Monet school in southern Paris, 53-year-old Anya was looking for her son.ReutersFrench Riot police apprehend a protester during clashes outside a Toulouse school"We banned him from coming. I hope he isn't here, but he did leave the house," she told AFP. "We're afraid the situation might escalate."Darmanin, the justice minister, said prosecutors had been asked to hold parents liable for damage caused by their children and "pay for repairs".He said since the start of the movement, about 2,000 people - most of whom were children - had been taken into custody.Many French unions have given their support to the protesting students.Education union SNEP-FSU, public services union SNUEP-FSU and Solidaires have all called for members to support them.Solidaires Trade Union Federation said in a statement: "Let's not let them fire on our children."Secondary school pupils have the freedom of assembly, association and demonstration."