Student-led protests across France drew about 71,500 people on Thursday, including 24,500 in Paris, the Interior Ministry said. Police arrested more than 500 people.

The demonstrations, held in cities including Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes and Rennes, are part of a movement that began on September 17 over overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages and decaying facilities.

In a sign of the first concession, Education Minister Edouard Geffray announced an immediate measure costing “several dozen million euros” on broadcaster TF1. Nearly 10 per cent of teaching hours at state high schools are unstaffed, according to ministry figures.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has pledged “concrete, quick and fully funded responses” by late October, but offered no specifics. A bigger day of protests is planned for October 17.

The unrest has spread beyond France. In Belgium, two large labour unions staged a national strike on Friday against budget cuts, affecting transport, schools and air traffic.