THIS is the dramatic moment cops charge student protesters as dozens of cops are injured in escalating clashes.
Shocking videos show students and feared riot doing battle on the streets of the French capital, as
Masked pupils hang off railings as huge projectiles are hurled at police – including fireworks, ripped straight out of the ground and the protesters’ own shoes.
Others drape themselves with the tricolour as they face off with armed police.
One video shows the moment teens yell at police before the riot police charge en masse at the demonstrators.
Protesters and police then lock in close combat, pinning each other to the ground in Paris’ historic Place de Bastille, where the famed was stormed by revolutionaries on July 14, 1789.
The square saw some of the worst of the violence on Thursday, as kids climbed the iconic monument in its centre and did bitter battle with cops.
Many also protested peacefully, some waving the French flag and singing the national anthem.
One student was seen sitting on the top of a bus stop, clutching a sign reading: “Reason for absence: Too busy fighting for our future.”
More than 71,000 took part in marches across the country today, the French interior ministry said, including some 24,500 in Paris.
The ministry spokesperson warned that violence at the demos is ramping up.
He said there was “an increase in urban violence, on the fringes of the peaceful mobilisations of sixth form students, which has marred their legitimate expression”.
504 people were arrested and 48 police officers injured today alone.
Students from Lycees – the French equivalent of sixth form colleges, for pupils aged 15 – 18 – have been revolting for weeks, initially over conditions in .
Students are now demanding more teachers, shorter school hours, and an end to racial discrimination.
On Thursday ‘s education minister promised 3,000 substitute teachers for the country’s worst-off sixth forms.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said the supply teachers would be deployed in just days to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected schools.
Violence exploded this week, with thousands of schools shut as students have barricaded entrances and set bins on fire in the street.
Riot police have responded with force, trying to control the chaos by firing tear and water cannons at crowds to break up violent fringes on the edge of protests.
A , a teen’s hand has been blown off and college set alight as pupils raged at school conditions .
The 15-year-old who lost a hand after police fired a stun grenade caused the French government to suspend the use of the weapon.
