France's Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has suggested that student anger is being manipulated as political tensions rise ahead of next year's presidential election. This comes as thousands of students have been protesting for over three weeks, barricading high schools and taking their grievances to the streets.
Hundreds of new demonstrations are announced across France for this Saturday. Students are expected to be joined by workers' unions and prominent figures from the "yellow vest" movement, including activist Jérôme Rodrigues, who has encouraged participation via Instagram.
The protests follow accusations of police brutality earlier this month, which the French interior ministry has denied. The interior minister has since suspended the use of stun grenades by police at high school demonstrations.