Riot police tear gas French mayor in student demonstrations

A Parisian mayor needed treatment after he attempted to put himself between riot police and students during violent nationwide protests about conditions in French schools.

Footage published by Reuters showed Bally Bagayoko, mayor of the northern Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, receiving eye drops from supporters.

"There was a moment when they decided to charge, and so I put myself in the middle, both to protect [others] and to ask them to stop," Mr Bagayoko said in an interview with Reuters.

"They decided to go around us and it is at that moment when I can be seen [in videos online] backing up and asking them to stop."

Mr Bagayoko joined students who were marching in Saint-Denis on Tuesday, local time.

"They had decided to charge and effectively go after the students, many of whom had shown no aggressive behaviour whatsoever toward the police officers," he said.

Another video, captured by a freelance journalist and published by CNN and The Guardian, showed Mr Bagayoko asking riot police to "stop" while standing between them and masked students. 

"The high school children who were in the street could be my children," Mr Bagayoko said.

"It is my responsibility to be at their side."

In the video published by Reuters, students were heard chanting his name as supporters helped him pour drops into his eyes.

What are the protests about?

Poverty levels in Saint-Denis, one of the first sites of protests that began in September, are more than double the national average.

The protests were sparked by complaints about overcrowded and unsanitary classrooms, teacher shortages and unequal opportunities.

They began in marginalised suburbs but soon spread across France. 

The students' demands include ensuring absent teachers are replaced, repairing aging school buildings, reviewing the length of an 8am to 6pm school day and the need for longer lunch breaks.

In an address to the nation on Wednesday local time, French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu acknowledged the "legitimate" demands of the students but also said the demonstrations were the most "violent student demonstrations in decades".

There have been more than 6,000 arrests since the protests began and at least 215 students and 715 police officers have been injured.

One 15-year-old student had his hand blown off after picking up a police sting grenade in the northern town of Lens.

The use of sting grenades in the demonstrations was suspended by authorities shortly after and police have opened 18 internal investigations into conduct during demonstrations.

Mr Bagayoko said the response to the protests should be a political one rather than using the police.

"The state allocates fewer resources for working-class neighbourhoods than the affluent Parisian neighbourhoods," he said.

"That is an incontestable reality".

Who is Bally Bagayoko?

Bally Bagayoko is a member of the far-left-wing La France Insoumise party and was elected as Mayor of Saint-Denis in March.

Mr Bagayoko previously served on local council for 19 years.

Born in France to Malian parents, he told The Guardian that he "broke a glass ceiling" to become the first black mayor of his hometown.

In April, the Paris prosecutor's office opened an investigation into French news channel CNews for possible hate speech after alleged racist comments about Mr Bagayoko.

It was opened after he lodged a complaint alleging comments made by panellists on the channel constituted racist slurs.

CNews denied the allegations, calling them "baseless", according to Reuters.

The government has accused the hard-left LFI party, translated as "France Unbowed", of encouraging the protests.

But LFI's candidate for the 2027 presidential election, Jean-Luc Melenchon, said on Wednesday that his party "called for non-violent methods of struggle".

Mr Bagayoko also dismissed the claim, and said it was "insulting" to young people.

"On the spot, my message to high school students was clear: do not yield to provocation, do not endanger themselves, and continue their peaceful mobilisation," he wrote on his Instagram page.

The demonstrations come six months out from a presidential election to replace Emmanuel Macron who has served his maximum of two terms.

Polling shows France's far-right national Rally party candidate Marine Le Pen as the current front-runner.