French police detain over 5,000 in student protests

More than 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been detained in France amid large-scale protests by high school students that began in poor Paris suburbs and spread to other cities. The protests have hit Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours, and Lille, with students from over 1,200 schools joining this week. Demonstrators demand better learning conditions, increased education funding, and solutions to teacher shortages, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets in some clashes. Students report overcrowded classes, teacher vacancies, and poor school conditions, including sanitation issues and lack of drinking water. The movement, sparked by government budget constraints, is being compared to major French school protests of the 1990s.