France school blockades spread amid police clashes

French high-school blockades spread on Tuesday as teenagers protesting school conditions clashed with police in several cities.

Students have staged protests outside schools since last week over grievances including timetables, class sizes, teacher shortages and overheated classrooms after recent heatwaves.

In Lille, masked students set rubbish bins on fire outside the Lycee Cesar Baggio, an AFP photographer reported. Bus shelters and advertising billboards were vandalised, and bottles, paving stones and other objects were thrown at police, who fired tear gas.

In Nantes, teenagers piled up bins to block the entrance to the Lycee Gabriel Guist'hau. In Paris, about 30 students faced police at the Arago school, while about 80 students gathered outside the Lamartine school. Similar actions were reported in Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon.

Education authorities reported blockades at about 10 schools in the Ile-de-France region around Paris on Tuesday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 180 schools were affected on Monday and 164 arrests were made.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Monday that any escalation at high schools would be “irresponsible” and criticised the hard-left France Unbowed party for encouraging the protests. Nunez said authorities “cannot tolerate excesses.”

The school actions came as unions planned nationwide demonstrations and strikes over Lecornu's budget. Teachers and fire services were due to strike, while public transport was not expected to be badly affected.