Protesters pour petrol on French school principal

Violent protesters poured petrol on a school principal and set fire to at least two schools in France on Thursday amid nationwide student protests over staff shortages and deteriorating school buildings.

Police said hundreds of young people surrounded a fire engine at Saint-Exupéry High School in Marseille, forcing firefighters to flee before setting the vehicle on fire.

Prosecutors said the principal of Victor Hugo High School in the same city was also assaulted and injured. A school in Nantes was also set on fire, firefighters said.

The protests and blockades, which began last week, have intensified amid tensions over the government’s unpopular 2027 budget cuts. Officials said many people have been injured and hundreds arrested, most of them teenagers.

Students have accused police of using heavy-handed measures, including tear gas. The government has condemned the violence while acknowledging the need to address problems facing high schools.

-AJM