The mayor of Paris’ Saint-Denis suburb has been tear-gassed while attempting to shield masked student street protesters from riot police. Mayor Bally Bagayoko has accused officers of using “totally disproportionate” force.

Bagayoko, a descendant of Malian immigrants, was filmed standing between heavily armored riot police and a crowd of predominantly black and Middle Eastern youths in Saint-Denis on Tuesday, as smoke and tear gas filled the air.

After the gathering had been dispersed, Bagayoko and his entourage were seen applying eye drops to their bloodshot eyes. 

In a social media post after the incident, Bagayoko said that he “witnessed a totally disproportionate use of force against young people who are simply asking to be heard.”

“To the mobilized youth: your demands are just,” he added. “Continue to organize yourselves and make your voices heard. But do not give in to any provocation. Stay united and non-violent!”

Student protests began in Paris last month, when pupils at a high school joined their striking teachers in demanding more resources and funding. The movement coalesced on social media, and 250,000 students took part in nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday, according to figures from the French Interior Ministry.

As the protests grew, many degenerated into violent riots, with students setting fires, looting, and assaulting police officers and other emergency workers. More than 6,000 people have  been arrested in connection with the protests, and more than 700 police officers have been injured, according to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

Around 215 students have been injured, some of them apparently as a result of police brutality. A 15-year-old boy had his hand blown off by a police stun grenade in Lens; a 14-year-old had his jaw broken by a tear gas grenade in Val-d’Oise; and a 16-year-old was blinded in Tours, allegedly by a rubber bullet.

In Saint-Denis, Bagayoko has been accused of inciting violence and vandalism. The mayor was condemned by the right after he was filmed dancing in front of a dumpster fire outside a school in his district, with the leader of the conservative Republicans (LR) party Bruno Retailleau declaring that Bagayoko’s party coming to power would “sound the death knell of the French Republic.” 

The leader of Bagayoko’s left-wing La France Insoumise (France Unbowed, LFI), Jean-Luc Melenchon, has called for “the high-school movement to spread,” but insisted that he is not responsible for the actions of violent rioters. Lecornu’s office has described the rioters as “far-left proxies” of LFI.