Students blockade schools, universities as France braces for mass rallies

Let's cross now to our senior reporter, Clovis Casale, who joins us from one of the protests. Clovis, bring us up to date then with what the latest position seems to be there and what we can expect during the day. Well, I'm outside the Corbusier High School in Aubervilliers, in Seine-Saint-Denis, which is one of the poorest parts of France here. Students, pupils and professors, teachers are hugely mobilized to block the high school. I'm looking behind me because there was a bit of action minutes ago with some students, pupils chanting. Everybody hates the police. Police forces who try to move. The crowd behind me because the crowd is blocking the street and there is a bit of a tension with pupils sending fireworks at police and firecrackers. Police now have moved, I can see them from here with their shields ready to possibly intervene in a few minutes, try to move these crowds. You can see behind me a lot of pupils, I'd say possibly a hundred, maybe a bit more, and they all are here on the streets. They've been doing so for weeks now since mid-September, blocking the high school Le Corbusier in Aubervilliers. Because they say they want teachers to be systematically replaced when they're sick. It's not always the case. They also want more money put here to renovate the facilities. And more generally, they are worried about their future. These high school pupils want more from the government, they're mobilised, a lot of them wearing masks expecting police forces to fire tear gas. Paris and its suburbs not on fire of course but a bit of tension here this morning as pupils blocking their school. Yeah interesting to see that tension so early in a way Clovis as you say there's a lot more to come later on isn't there during the day? Absolutely. And not all of the pupils here are going to be turning up at the demonstration this afternoon, but some will. The movement, the student movement, wanted this day to come for a convergence, if you will, for employees from the public, from the private sector to join forces with them to put pressure on the government for this mass rally in Paris. Expect around 80,000 people possibly, but 700,000 expected. across the nation, all demonstrating, taking to the streets to protest against high living costs here in France. They want prices to go down, salaries to go up. They say not enough is being done by the government. They want real change behind these strikes and protests, or at least the protests where Well, you've got also left-wing parties and radical left parties. Working hand in hand with trade unions to try to mobilize really as many people as possible. But it all started with these high school students joined by students from universities who are worried about their future, who want more money put into renovating facilities. And also, as I said, for professors and teachers to be replaced systematically. I'm just looking behind me to see what is going on. There is a bit of a festive atmosphere too, you can see people wearing masks but I mean Comic masks and also dressed up, I can see a dolphin behind me and I can see someone dressed as a giant pig. So also a festive atmosphere and teachers were telling me earlier that they were proud to be teaching in this school, that the students are responsible and that those scenes of violence we've seen in previous weeks with looting taking place was not from these high school students or people like this. Clovis, thanks very much. Clovis Castanet there, our senior reporter, joining us from that one particular demonstration as it gets underway here in Paris.