France gripped by student protests amid overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages

France has been hit by a wave of youth protests as hundreds of high schools across the country are forced to shut down for a second week. Students boycotted because of overcrowding and a shortage of teachers. The nationwide day of demonstrations is scheduled for October 6, the correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti news agency reports.

According to Reuters, 400 to 500 French high schools out of 3,700 will remain fully or partially closed.

Protests began in late September in a Paris suburb over a shortage of teachers and then spread across the country.

Since the demonstrations began, 24 schools have been burned or looted and 78 teaching staff have been injured. Around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, were detained across France at the end of September. Property damage is estimated at tens of millions of euros.

According to the French TV channel BFM TV, police and students clashed in the city of Lille, and in Toulouse police used tear gas. In central Paris, protesters tried to set fire to a school - the institution had to be evacuated, and the attackers were not even students.

French government spokeswoman Maud Brejon said authorities would consider a bill on collective responsibility for rioters on October 27 to bring those responsible for damage to property to justice.

Student unions called for a nationwide demonstration on Tuesday, October 6. Security services fear the organized protest, especially in central Paris, could turn into more clashes.