Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with high school students who have been blocking their schools since mid-September to demand more funding for education.
The French Ministry of the Interior put the figure at some 256,000 across the country, including 56,000 in Paris. However, organizers say the marches drew as many as 450,000 people, with 100,000 heading out in the capital city.
In Paris, crowds of protesters gathered by landmarks, singing and cheering, holding aloft placards adorned with slogans and waving national flags, with some setting off flares, while police in riot gear were later brought in, creating a tense stand-off.
Students have decried dilapidated schools, overcrowded classrooms, staff shortages and inequalities in the education system.
"So, we're from a school, a pretty privileged high school in Paris. We're from a hotel management school, and we're also here to stand up for all those whose high schools are falling apart, all those who are short of several teachers, all those who start at 8:00 and don't finish until 18:00," said one of the young protesters.
"The government doesn't want to employ teachers, and they want to suppress teachers. So, the students can't have their diploma because they can't pass their exams, because they don't have the teachers. And it's like they are lost and anxious," said another protester.
"There are so many inequalities between schools from Paris and outside of Paris. We want simply to have good conditions in class," said another protester.
The mass mobilization is said to have started fairly peacefully at the famous Place de la Republique in Paris, before crowds then marched down to Place de la Nation, where the protests became violent, with reports of clashes with police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. Two teenage girls were reportedly injured in the suburbs.
Nationwide, close to 500 people were arrested on Tuesday amid violence on the fringes of the protests, according to the French Ministry of the Interior, taking the total number of arrests since the start of the movement to more than 6,500.
Nearly 900 high schools, almost one-quarter of the country's total, were disrupted by Tuesday's large-scale protests, the French Ministry of National Education announced, while classes have been suspended from Wednesday through Friday to allow for a "period of internal democracy" with students, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced.
Lecornu condemned what he called "an escalation of violence," saying that this break from classrooms will give time to teachers to facilitate a structured space for student mobilization.
Hundreds of thousands take to streets to join school protests across France
As the conflict in the Gaza Strip enters its third year, Palestinians are facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis marked by widespread destruction, severe shortages, and systemic displacement.
Amid the widespread destruction, they are navigating their individual stories of loss, injury, and displacement as they are struggling to rebuild their lives.
Before the conflict which erupted in October 2023, painting was Areej Al-Saafin's passion. However, her brother was killed and her family home was damaged. Al-Saafin and her mother are among the more than 174,000 Palestinians wounded in the war. Having lost one eye, the artist said the trauma has profoundly changed her perspective and her craft.
"As a woman in Gaza, I am destroyed psychologically and physically. I no longer have the same passion as before. Physically, I lost my eye, and I can't focus on painting like I used to," Al-Saafin said.
While large parts of Gaza have been reduced to rubble, some residents are finding their ways to restart their businesses amid the destruction. In eastern Gaza City, Basel Al-Batsh operates a small recycling workshop, producing parts that have become increasingly difficult to obtain due to closed crossings. His own factory was destroyed in the war, forcing him to start over with fewer resources.
"We collect aluminum from the rubble of destroyed homes and recycle it into parts that are no longer allowed into Gaza through the closed crossings, such as generator components and spare parts for cars and trucks," Al-Batsh said.
For others, rebuilding means regaining basic mobility. Omar Halawa was twelve when an Israeli airstrike cost him his right leg. Now thirteen, he is among thousands of war-related amputees in a territory which the United Nations says is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history. Halawa is still waiting for a suitable prosthetic leg.
"I dream of living a good life in a safe place and getting a prosthetic leg so I can walk normally, play football with my friends and go swimming," Halawa said.
Meanwhile, some women who lost limbs in the conflict have begun their journey back to the football pitch. On a field in central Gaza, young women train on crutches as part of Palestine's first women's amputee football team. Among them is 24-year-old Rozan Khaira, a former runner.
"I joined the team because I was already an athlete. Sports have been part of my life since childhood, and my family is also very athletic. Losing my leg will not stop me from pursuing my dreams and favorite hobbies," Khaira said.
The war has taken a massive toll on the younger generation, with more than 21,000 Palestinian children killed since the conflict began. For some displaced children, recovery is taking the form of music. Inside temporary learning spaces, they are finding a different sound from the war around them, using music to learn, play, and feel like children again. Ghazal Abu Jibba is learning to play the violin.
"We now come every day because the music makes us feel better, especially given the conditions we are living through. We want the war to end so that we, as children, can live in peace and safety," Abu Jibba said.
Across the devastated enclave, tens of millions of tonnes of rubble remain, standing in the way of reconstruction. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of turning Gaza into what he called the "Riviera of the Middle East", a plan linked to the relocation of Palestinians, has met widespread rejection. Despite the ruins, many remain determined to stay on their land.
After three years of war, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed, and most of Gaza's homes have been destroyed or damaged. Yet amid the loss and pain, Gazans continue to rebuild their lives, holding on to the hope for a better future.
Palestinians in Gaza struggling to rebuild their lives amid widespread destruction
