PARIS: French high school students on Friday lit fires and hurled projectiles at police who responded by firing tear gas, as activists urged new rallies in an escalating protest movement demanding better conditions in education.
The government says that the pupils in their mid-to-late-teens studying in lycees have every right to air grievances but has condemned violence which has included a policeman being chased, kicked and beaten by a group of youths.
In La Ciotat in southern France, a teacher was sprayed with petrol before being physically assaulted by two individuals, officials said.
