The French student protests crossed into Belgium and Italy this week, with young people in both countries staging their own actions in support of the movement that began in France in late September. Inside France, Thursday brought new barricades and tear gas in Paris, at least a dozen solidarity demonstrations nationwide and 375 school closures, according to officials.

Barricades in Paris and Solidarity Marches Across France

Students barricaded the Hélène Boucher high school in northeastern Paris with garbage bins on Thursday before police moved in with tear gas. Later in the day, at least a dozen demonstrations in support of the high school students' movement were planned across France, including a rally at Place de la Bastille.

The education ministry said 375 schools were fully or partially closed on Thursday, a figure that was down compared with Tuesday. The protests target the underfunding of schools, many of which are struggling with dilapidated facilities and insufficient staff.

Most of the protesting students are under 18, and police have made more than 6,600 arrests since the movement began in late September, according to the interior ministry.

The Demands and the Government's Response

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu addressed the country on television, saying violence had led to students and staff being attacked, police officers and gendarmes injured, schools set on fire or vandalized and thousands of hours of classes lost.

He also criticized political leaders who use the anger to conduct their electoral battles, with France due to hold a presidential election in April.

Students: "Nothing Will Stop Us"

At the barricades, Emma Khelil, an 18-year-old university student and former pupil of the school, said she came to support the action and is really concerned about police violence. "We're here to defend our rights, not to lose an eye or a hand," Khelil said. She described insulation problems and water leaks in the school building and said she had even seen rats on occasion; other students confirmed seeing rats too.

Khelil said she does not think the movement will lose momentum and that, as long as things do not change, it could grow stronger and converge with the presidential election.

At Place de la République, some protesters carried placards reading "More money for repression than for our education" and "Who protects us from the police?". Sofia Ferdials, 18, a student at Paris 8 University, was among them. "We're here, we're demonstrating, and we won't stop. Until October, November, December if necessary. Nothing will stop us," Ferdials said.

At the Bastille rally, Dounia Gergeon, a 39-year-old school librarian, said she shared the students' concerns about a broader crisis facing young people anxious about their futures. "They do not feel supported," she said. "They feel cornered and forced to work under these conditions". Authorities later deployed tear gas and a water cannon at protesters there, some of whom hurled projectiles at riot police.

The Movement Crosses Into Belgium and Italy

In Belgium, Liège mayor Willy Demeyer banned public gatherings until midnight on Oct. 16, citing a "real, serious and imminent risk" of clashes and vandalism. On Wednesday, Liège police had used water cannon and tear gas against several hundred protesters; nearly 90 people were arrested and several police were injured. Police reinforcements were sent from Brussels and Antwerp, with more coming, while smaller protests were held in Mons and Charleroi.

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said on social media that the "perpetrators will have to answer for their actions before the courts".

The Belgian protests were organized through online chat groups and include demands for more teachers and smaller classes as well as complaints about education reform, likely inspired by the French movement.

In Italy, the protests spread to several cities on a smaller scale, with activists explicitly invoking the French example under the slogan "let's do as they do in France". The actions so far:

• •In Turin, students occupied several high schools over building conditions, education funding and increased military spending.
• •In Rome, students occupied one high school and walked out of another.
• •In Naples, students added opposition to a planned migrant detention centre to their demands.

In Liège, the gathering ban runs until midnight on Oct. 16, and police reinforcements from Brussels and Antwerp continue to arrive.