Nationwide student protests continue in France | ABC NEWS

Protest marches drew huge crowds on Thursday in Paris and elsewhere across France as demonstrators demanded higher wages and backed the country’s student protest movement, piling fresh pressure on the government.

France’s Interior Ministry said more than 600,000 people took to the streets while the CGT, one of France’s major unions, said nearly 1.6 million people took part in more than 200 demonstrations nationwide.

In Paris, the mood was festive at the start, featuring some carnival-like floats and a diverse group of participants singing La Marseillaise. But about two hours in, some of the people at the front of the march clashed with police, who fired tear gas.

Some young demonstrators were carrying signs reading: “Inequalities seriously jeopardise our future” and “We can’t spend our whole lives just trying to make a living”.

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