“Our future is being stolen from us and, as we have seen here, schools are not getting the investment they need.”

Now in their third week, the protests – backed by unionists, some teachers and radical leftwing opposition politicians – have shaken a government caught between calls for urgent public investment and pressure to reduce France’s ballooning deficit and debt.

Marches around the country drew more than 260,000 protesters last Tuesday and a further 75,000 on Thursday, according to interior ministry figures, and are expected to be repeated on Tuesday in several major cities including the French capital.