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Riot police clashed with high school students across France on Friday, as unions called for teachers to strike, as President Emmanuel Macron's government struggles to contain protests over classroom conditions and funding.
Tear gas clouds covered the streets of Strasbourg in eastern France, fireworks were set off at police in Marseille in southern France, and garbage cans were set on fire in Rennes in the west.
In La Ciotat, near Marseille, a spokesman for the regional education authority said a young man had splashed gasoline on a teacher.
In a video on social media broadcast by BFM TV, a man is seen holding his face after a masked person sprayed liquid from a bottle on him. Reuters could not verify the circumstances of the incident.
Demonstrators in Pantin, on the outskirts of Paris, set fire to objects, such as fences, and threw fireworks at riot police, before fleeing.
After an emergency government meeting on Thursday, a source close to the prime minister said the protests had turned from a protest movement into acts of violence in urban areas, while Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said the protests had been hijacked by 'intruders'.
Education Minister Edouard Geffroy said 65 education sector workers were injured during the unrest, including 40 school principals.
Several students in the Paris region interviewed by Reuters earlier in the week said they would stay away from Friday's demonstrations due to escalating violence.
Meanwhile, labor unions called for a teachers' strike on Tuesday, a week after a public sector strike.
Teacher Sandra Champin-Cellier said, "(Violence) is unfortunate, but... when demands go unanswered for years, and given the political and geopolitical situation, there are several circumstances that put... students in a real state of anxiety."
Darmanin told RTL radio that police had arrested 2,000 people, mostly teenagers, since the protests began, adding that parents who caused property damage should pay compensation.
About 400 high schools, nearly one in ten, were closed on Friday due to unrest, while Geffroy urged parents to prevent their children from participating in protests.
Some parents supported the protests. Vincent Martin joined his daughter outside the Helene Boucher high school in Paris, saying the students were "completely right to demand... better educational conditions."
Kesia, 15, told Reuters in the Paris suburb of Pantin, "There are 35 of us in each class, and there aren't enough seats in the classrooms, and the one-hour lunch break (is too short) for everyone to eat," before running away when police used tear gas.
Under the 2027 budget draft presented by the government on Thursday, the education budget is set to increase by 1.7 percent, less than the inflation rate, to 65.53 billion euros ($73.77 billion), excluding teachers' pensions.
Education is traditionally the largest item in the budget, but this will change next year as the draft indicates that debt service costs are expected to reach 74.5 billion euros.
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