French students blockade dozens of high schools as unions plan national strike

■ Steady

French students blockade dozens of high schools as unions plan national strike

On Tuesday, students blocked dozens of high schools across France to press the government over education reforms, and trade unions are preparing a nationwide strike later this week. This followed a return to blockades on Monday after the autumn holidays, despite government concessions made during the break. Over the weekend, protests in France and elsewhere in Europe turned violent, and French officials opened an attempted murder investigation after a petrol bomb was thrown at riot police.

• Student unions said blockades would restart on Monday; Macron has urged classes to resume after new education measures that student groups consider insufficient.
• The interior ministry estimated 320,000 demonstrators nationwide on Saturday, fewer than on the previous two Saturdays, with clashes in Paris and other cities.
• Protests begun by French high schoolers have spread to Belgium, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, with researchers citing living costs, housing and job prospects.
• Gen Z protests turned violent in 34 German cities on the weekend, and German unions launched a wave of cost-of-living strikes on Monday.