- New footage shows how a French student rioter blasted a woman in the face with a makeshift flamethrower as the country faces yet another day of violence. Protests have been growing in size and aggression this week as young people take to the streets over grievances about the state of education. The students say their school hours are excessively long, conditions are inadequate – including overheated classrooms – and that there are too many staff absences. The government says the complaints are legitimate but violence is not. At least 65 staff members have been injured, including 40 high school principals, since the start of the movement, officials said. Some 170 students have been wounded while more than 100 high schools have suffered 'severe damage'. Violent hooligans have been terrorising members of the public. In a video taken in Marseilles, a black-clad youth cornered a woman by a bus stop and used a makeshift flamethrower against her. The male teen was seen lighting up an aerosol can and pointing it directly at her face. Onlookers screamed as the flames shot at the woman. As she clutched her head, he was seen walking away. The incident on Thursday took place on Place du 4 Septembre. Another clip, shot today in the city of Belfort, showed a mob of young men ganging up and attacking an off-duty police officer. Footage showed the man in casual clothes holding a rioter by his arm. A second agitator rushed the off-duty cop and brought him to the ground. 'Everything will be done to identify the perpetrators of this abject act. Total support for the police officers and gendarmes who intervene in difficult conditions, and when they use force, in accordance with my instructions, they are not facing demonstrators but rioters.' Just yesterday, verified footage showed a lone policewoman being chased down a city street and then tripped up by a gang of young men. The video footage – shot in the Paris suburbs – ended abruptly as the officer, who was graspi