Student protest continues as police fire tear gas into crowds

Police fire tear gas to control crowds across France

as more than a quarter of a million people rallied nationwide

to support high school students demanding more education funding.

Parents and supporters are questioning the level of force

used on minors.

Crowds rush to disperse as police fire tear gas

at protesters in Paris who have come out in support of

high school students nationwide who are demanding

more funding and resources for the education system.

The Interior Ministry estimates 256,000 people took part in demonstrations

across the country on Tuesday, including 56,000 in Paris who took

part in a largely peaceful demonstrations.

The widespread arrests and use of tear gas and riot-control weapons against

teenagers is fuelling defiance and angering parents and teachers,

with some describing the police response as disproportionate.

This as pupils again blockade high schools in Marseille, Strasbourg

and other cities in a show of unity for protests that began at a

high school in the Paris region in mid-September.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez says the police response had been

proportionate in "almost all cases" and the protests had at times

turned into riots, requiring police intervention.

French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu says the government and

school leaders must listen to students' concerns and find solutions.

After two weeks of class boycotts, school blockades and more than 6,100 arrests,

mostly of minors, the movement has become a flashpoint in the early days

of the presidential election campaign and as President Emmanuel Macron wraps

up a second and final term in office.

The teenage protesters complaints have found a sympathetic audience

amid immediate difficulties such as fuel prices,

border concerns, public spending, rising poverty and wealth inequality.