Thousands of French high school students blocked schools across the country because of teacher shortages, overcrowding and crumbling buildings.

Thousands of French high school students blocked schools across the country because of teacher shortages, overcrowding and crumbling buildings.

It became violent.

Burning barricades, acid thrown at the police, a teacher sprayed with gasoline - resulting in mass deployments of riot police against minors.

A mother's tearful plea to the police has gone viral:

Stop it, they're kids. It's disproportionate.

Over 5,000 arrests were made per week, about 90% of them minors.

The Minister of Justice ordered the parents to bear financial responsibility for the damage, calling it "much more beneficial than locking them up."

The government blamed far-left politicians for fueling the unrest.