Student protests in France, more than 600 arrested and 83 police officers injured

More than 600 people have been arrested and a dozen police and gendarmerie officers have been injured in France, where high school student protests have escalated.

The student movement, whose members are protesting over the last three years of secondary education, has angered the government.

Since last week, young people have held demonstrations outside schools over grievances about timetables, class sizes, a shortage of teachers and the heat during the summer heatwave months.

The demonstrations began in the Ile-de-France region around Paris, but have now spread to other cities across the country.

On Wednesday, 625 people were arrested during student blockades, whose initiative, according to the interior minister, has grown.

Laurent Nunez condemned what he called an “escalation of violence” outside 356 school institutions, as well as the injuring of 83 officers from the police and gendarmerie.

The minister spoke of deliberate attacks on law enforcement, with demonstrators throwing firecrackers at them, using violence and turning the protest into urban violence.

Since the unrest began last week, 119 students and education staff members have been injured, Education Minister Edouard Geffray said.

The cities most affected by the unrest are Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille, where police have used tear gas to disperse the gathered young people.