French mayor dances against the backdrop of protests - VIDEO

The mayor of the French city of Saint-Denis has come under criticism after the appearance of a video in which he dances next to participants of a protest action.

The city head was accused of inciting riots and arson.

The mayor himself stated that, on the contrary, he was trying to ensure the safety of the participants of the action and help extinguish the fire that had broken out.

Protests by high school students in France have been going on for about a week. The students are demanding increased funding for education, smaller class sizes, and more teachers. The actions are taking place mainly in the Paris region, but have also affected Lille, Lyon, Grenoble, and Nice.

According to the head of France's Interior Ministry, Laurent Nuñez, 164 people were detained during the protests. The actions took place at nearly 180 educational institutions. Schoolchildren blocked 27 institutions and tried to block the entrance to 50 more schools.

In a number of cases, the protests were accompanied by riots, arson, clashes with police, and property damage. According to preliminary data, 12 law enforcement officers, eight teachers, including three principals, as well as about 12 students were injured.

Source: BFMTV, Densus.ru