PARIS (Dispatches) - France faced more rallies on Saturday, with demonstrators venting frustrations ranging from inflation to opposition to a new police bill at the latest protests.
The European Union’s second-largest economy has been gripped by high-school blockades and cost-of-living demonstrations for more than a month, ahead of presidential elections next year that the far right sees as its best chance of seizing power.
Some of the largely peaceful rallies have seen fringe violence, as well  police brutality.
People were to take to the streets for the fifth Saturday in a row, with a main rally in Paris from 1.00pm (1200 GMT) and dozens of other gatherings across the country.
The demonstrations follow weeks of disturbances that have seen businesses looted, public buildings attacked and protesters seriously injured.
A Reuters investigation found that the government’s response, including mass arrests, police violence and restrictions on demonstrations, has added to the grievances driving the movement.
 Images of riot police baton-charging teenagers fanned support for the students from a diverse array of protesters – including parents, teachers, left-wing politicians and trade unionists – who joined their marches.
Police tactics have faced particular scrutiny following reports of young demonstrators losing hands and eyesight. The United Nations and other human rights experts have also questioned the arrest of nearly 7,000 minors during school blockades, describing the detentions as disproportionate.
In the capital, the Yellow Vest movement joined high-school students, unions and other activists fighting for children’s rights or opposed to a bill to give police more protection in their use of weapons.
“Society’s in bad shape,” said Claire Bourdille, from a collective battling violence against children and teenagers. “We can’t focus on one cause more than another.” 
 Activists have in recent months demanded better protection for children against sexual abuse.
Others protested against a new bill in parliament to grant police who use their weapons a presumption of legitimate self-defense.
Backers, including the far-right National Rally party of presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen, say it is necessary to avoid police being automatically suspected of using disproportionate force.
Activists argue the bill, approved by the lower house and soon to go to the Senate, amounts to a “license to kill”.
They say it would make holding security forces accountable even harder in a country where most cases of alleged police brutality rarely reach a criminal court.
Lawyers last week denounced alleged police violence at recent protests that led to “mutilations” including hand, foot and eye injuries. 
Around 146,000 people took part in demonstrations across France on Saturday last week, according to authorities, far lower numbers than on previous weekends.
The largest protests in recent weeks occurred during a union-led strike on Thursday last week, when more than half a million people took to the streets nationwide, according to official figures.
Unions have called for a new day of strikes on Tuesday, after rejecting a government promise to increase the minimum wage by 0.6 per cent as “crumbs”.
The French government is also seeking tougher, more consistent disciplinary sanctions against students and education staff involved in high school blockades, according to a joint directive sent to regional education officials and prefects, broadcaster BFMTV reported.
The directive, issued by the interior and education ministers, calls for an early-morning police presence outside schools facing blockades and instructs authorities to “systematically arrest troublemakers.”
School principals were also urged to file civil claims in cases involving damage to school property.
“Restoring a calm atmosphere is an absolute priority,” the ministers said, emphasizing the need to ensure students can attend classes and prepare for exams under suitable conditions.
The measures come amid nationwide high school protests that began in mid-September over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating school facilities and insufficient educational resources.