France has been gripped by widespread protests and violent clashes with police over educational reforms, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets across various cities.

In some areas, demonstrations escalated into clashes featuring tear gas and street fires.

To contain the situation, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced the suspension of all high school classes nationwide for the remainder of the week.

According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of thousands of people rallied across different cities on Tuesday (October 6) demanding improvements to the education system.

Their grievances include swift recruitment of teachers to replace absentees, extended lunch breaks, and adjustments to daily class schedules.

Police deployed tear gas to disperse protesters who had blockaded several high schools.

Authorities estimated the number of protesters nationwide at around 250,000, while organizers claim the turnout of students and demonstrators approached 500,000.

The High School Students Union reported that approximately 2,000 high schools were blockaded or experienced suspended classes.

Reporting from a march in the capital, Paris, Al Jazeera correspondent Natasha Butler noted that the coalition of participating organizations is expanding. "We are seeing people from various unions—farmers' unions, energy sector workers, and teachers' unions have also announced they are taking to the streets in support of the students," Butler said.

She added, "Parents and teachers have said they are here not just to support their children, but also for their safety, as they are concerned about agitators infiltrating the protests and about excessive use of force by the police."

Demonstrators marched with placards in Marseille, Nantes, and Lyon bearing slogans such as "They don't actually care about us" and "Live or study."

Protests turned violent in Strasbourg, Lyon, and Rennes, where police fired tear gas while demonstrators set fires on streets and hurled objects at police officers.

Hugo Vetzel, a recent high school graduate and university hopeful in Strasbourg, said,

"When responses are met with violence, it means democracy is no longer working. A massive gap has grown between the ruling elite and us."

Al Jazeera reported that the protests began two weeks ago in Paris's poorest suburbs before rapidly spreading nationwide.

The government stated that the movement has now mutated into urban violence, prompting the deployment of riot police to several gatherings.

Announcing the class suspensions, French Prime Minister Lecornu stated, "Burning down a high school does not improve the condition of that school building."

He explained that the measure is intended to allow headteachers, educators, and students to work through "internal democracy" to resolve concerns regarding the school environment.

Meanwhile, he has instructed ministers to take action on student demands by the end of October. Lecornu added that the government is also considering the renovation of aging school buildings; however, doubts remain regarding how quickly the administration can address these demands.

Butler of Al Jazeera observed, "France is drowning in debt. The country is genuinely facing a budget crisis, so where is the money going to come from to fund public services?"

The French Ministry of the Interior reported that 6,100 people have been arrested since the protests began, the majority of them under the age of 18.

The Ministry of Justice stated that more than 1,800 individuals will face prosecution, 1,483 of whom are minors.

According to Lecornu's figures, at least 215 teenagers and 715 police officers have been injured during the unrest.

Earlier on Monday, a 15-year-old boy had his hand blown off during clashes between high school students and police in the northern town of Lens.

The government reported that roughly 200 to 250 protesters hurled objects at police during the confrontation.

According to the French newspaper La Voix du Nord, the teenager's hand and part of his arm were severed by an explosion after he picked up a police tear gas grenade.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump commented on the ongoing unrest in France, attributing it—without offering evidence—to unbridled immigration and Muslims.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed, "What is happening in France is nothing more than uncontrolled mass migration. This is not about schools; rather, the real issue is that Islam is trying to overtake France one day."

Previously, in August, Republican President Trump referred to Democratic candidates in the upcoming US midterm elections as "jihadists," remarks believed to target Muslim Democratic candidate Abdullah Hammoud following his primary nomination in Michigan last week.

Rights activists note that ahead of November's elections, such rhetoric among Republican lawmakers and elected officials is further fueling rising Islamophobic sentiments to appeal to right-wing voters.