In Pictures

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets across France as unions and teachers joined high school students who, for days, have been demanding better learning conditions in protests punctuated by violent confrontations.

The French Ministry of the Interior said 86,000 people had already joined demonstrations across the country early on Tuesday, while the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union put the figure at 260,000.

Students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of high schools since late September, complaining of missing teachers, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings unable to cope with rising temperatures.

While many protests have been peaceful, some demonstrators have started fires, destroyed bus shelters or clashed with riot police.

Police have responded with batons, tear gas and riot-control rounds.

Injuries, investigations

The government says 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured since the start of the movement.

Unions, rights groups and students have accused the authorities of using disproportionate force.

A 15-year-old lost a hand to a stun grenade fired by riot officers in the northern town of Lens on Monday.

Police have launched 10 internal investigations into allegations of brutality since the protests began, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said late on Monday.

Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the Ministry of Education.

More than 5,000 people, 87 percent of them minors, have been arrested.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said 85 members of teaching staff have also been injured.

The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of using public funds.

Dal Lake in Srinagar, the heart of tourism and cultural life in Indian-administered Kashmir, is slowly giving way under mounting population and environmental pressures.

Once renowned for its clear waters, floating gardens and houseboats, the lake is now clogged with untreated sewage, plastic waste and rampant weed growth, even as thousands of residents and businesses rely on it for transport and their livelihoods.

Unregulated construction along its shores, land encroachment and the expansion of nearby neighbourhoods have reduced its surface area and further damaged its fragile ecosystem.

The impact of climate change, including erratic rainfall and rising temperatures, is accelerating the lake’s decline.

Despite periodic clean-up campaigns and official conservation schemes, the future of Dal Lake remains uncertain, reflecting a wider environmental crisis across the Kashmir Valley.