FRENCH STUDENTS BLOCK SCHOOLS AS WORKERS STRIKE OVER BUDGET CUTS

French secondary school students blockaded schools and public sector workers went on strike on Tuesday in protest at planned budget cuts, seven months before France's presidential election. Opinion polls have consistently shown deep dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron and his centre-right government, according to reports. Student protests have gathered pace in recent days over overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. France's Ministry of National Education said more than 330 secondary schools, just under one in ten, were affected by the blockades.

In the Paris suburbs, teachers formed a line around protesting students in an apparent effort to shield them from police. Masked pupils gathered outside Lycée César Baggio in Lille, where bins were set on fire, while bus shelters and advertising billboards were vandalised elsewhere. Bottles and paving stones were thrown at police, who responded by firing tear gas. In Nantes, teenagers piled up bins to block the entrance to Lycée Gabriel Guist'hau, and around 30 students faced a standoff with police outside the Arago school in Paris. Similar clashes were reported in Marseille, Bordeaux and Lyon. One report said 40 people were arrested on Tuesday and that 10 students and staff were wounded.

The unrest reflects wider tension over the government's planned spending reductions in the run-up to the presidential election. Public sector workers joined the strike action alongside the student demonstrations, adding pressure on the government. The action came two days before the government is due to unveil its draft 2027 budget, according to reports. Polling has shown sustained public dissatisfaction with Macron and his government ahead of the vote.