October 16 Duration For weeks, high school students in France have forced a chaotic confrontation about the government’s priorities, but as CBC’s Chris Brown explains, their demands for more funding come as the country faces a precarious debt crisis.

The Latest Nationwide demonstrations are happening in France today over the cost of living, with "yellow vest" groups, students and trade unions calling on people to take to the streets.

France has been grappling with weeks of unrest as student-led protests calling for better conditions for learning have led to widespread school disruptions, arrests and violence.

The prospect that they will now be joined by yellow-vest demonstrators, who organized massive protests in 2018 over rising fuel prices, has prompted concerns of more chaos.

Skip Featured Media Pinned 1 hour ago Why today's protests are different Chris Brown Masked protesters run through tear gas amid clashes with the French police during a demonstration at the Place de la République in Paris on Saturday.

This is Chris Brown in Paris. While it's too soon to say how large today's protests are, they are different from previous demonstrations in at least one significant way. We are witnessing what analysts here call "convergence" — several protest movements coming together to support each other.

This current cycle of demonstrations was initiated by teenage high school students pushing for better conditions in their schools, but on the streets today, they are being joined by trade unionists, university students and members of the yellow vests.

The last group has largely been dormant since 2019 or so, after initiating protests of high fuel costs. But the gilets jaunes as they are known here, have a major presence on the streets of Paris today. The goal of the protesters is to push the Macron government to make major spending concessions.

Latest first Main tourism office in Lyon set ablaze Anya Zoledziowski Protesters wearing yellow vests run past Lyon's tourism office, which was set on fire during a demonstration to protest against the high cost of living, in Lyon, southeastern France, on Saturday.

During Saturday's protests, the main tourism centre in the southeastern French town of Lyon, about 460 kilometres from Paris, was set on fire. Images show black smoke billowing out of the building, with flames engulfing its interior. Nationwide, more than 160 people have been arrested so far, authorities say.

Protests likely a headache for Macron during his final months in office The Associated Press French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels on Friday.

Macron has faced a succession of protest movements during his decade in office, which have sapped his popularity and fuelled broad criticism of how his ministers use police against demonstrators. With the high schoolers, the outcry has grown particularly loud, partly because the vast majority of the thousands arrested in recent weeks are under 18 and because police riot control weapons are blamed for life-changing injuries suffered by some young teens.

The latest unrest is marking the final months for the president, who is slated to leave his post in May of next year. Chaotic scene in Paris Protesters gather in the Place de la République in Paris.

From our vantage point overlooking Place de la République, the scene is utter chaos. A short time ago, we saw protesters light a car on fire. They also burned down a kiosk. When police tried to push hundreds of black-clad protesters back to let firefighters through, they were met with a hail of rocks and cans. More than 5,000 arrests and over 200 injured so far Kyle G. Brown Teenager loses hand in violent France school protests October 5 A 15-year-old boy lost a hand during student protests across France calling for better school conditions.

More than 5,000 young people have been arrested during the unrest, and dozens of schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister.

Since the movement began last month, hundreds of schools have been blockaded. While the majority of protests have been peaceful, some have been marred by vandalism and violence. Police have made more than 5,000 arrests so far.

More than 200 people have been injured since the student mobilization began, "whether in accidents … or due to injuries caused by troublemakers," said Education Minister Édouard Geffray.

Police have also severely injured some people, including a youth who was blinded in one eye after being hit by a projectile. France has suspended the use of stun grenades after a 15-year-old boy in the north of the country lost his hand during a demonstration.

Amnesty International condemned "the disproportionate use of force against secondary school protests," calling for police to de-escalate. At least 18 internal investigations into alleged police violence are underway. Police have already used tear gas during Saturday's protests A masked protester attempts to kick a tear gas canister amid clashes with the French riot police.

Early Saturday, images coming out of Paris showed police dressed in riot gear and demonstrators moving through tear gas. Clashes were also taking place in Marseille, where protesters threw projectiles, while law enforcement also responded with tear gas. 140 protests outside of Paris so far, according to police A protester in Paris wearing a yellow vest holds a heart-shaped pillow with the slogan 'Macron I hate you with all my heart.'

By midday, French police said they logged 140 protests outside of the country's capital, with some 32,800 people involved. Authorities blamed the unrest on what they referred to as the "ultra-left." On the ground, many protesters have voiced dissatisfaction with Macron, who is entering the final stretch of his presidency and leaving behind a polarized electorate. Protest signs at demonstrations take aim at the president and include slogans such as, "Resistance is a human right" and "For a better world, revolution is the solution."

"We are fighting because the cost of living is too harsh, because the price of fuel is too high, because high school pupils are being violently attacked and hurt all over the country just for trying to protest and ask for more teachers and decent learning conditions," a 19-year-old protester in Paris who gave her name as Lola told Reuters. With files from Reuters What do the students want?

A protester holds a placard reading 'Shall we make efforts? Bernard Arnault first!' ahead of a demonstration to protest against the high cost of living, at Place de la République in Paris on Saturday.

Many want to see large-scale recruitment of teachers, school nurses and teaching assistants. Students, particularly in the banlieues, or economically deprived suburbs, are also calling for urgent repairs and renovations to school buildings.

Recent educational reforms have resulted in longer school days, often extending from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., which many find onerous.

But students should perhaps be careful what they wish for. The French school day is so long in part to compensate for lengthy school vacations — around 16 weeks compared to the European average of 14. Shortening school days may mean fewer holidays.

Wracked by weeks of student protests and an increasingly broad base of support, the French government is now trying to rush through a number of reforms. Why are students protesting?

Protesters march from Place de la République during the latest student protests in Paris on Saturday.

Many high school students say the state of their learning environment is poor, from decaying infrastructure to a lack of teachers. More than half of all schools in France are short-staffed this year, according to a survey conducted by a secondary school teachers' union.

The shortage has affected public education in France for close to a decade. The chronic failure to replace absent teachers or hire substitutes means students can miss hundreds of hours of instruction.

The students say they are also fed up with overcrowded classrooms, with an average of 25-30 students a class.

They also describe dilapidated buildings, pest infestations — including cockroaches and rats — and uninsulated classrooms severely affected by temperature shifts, particularly during recent heat waves.

Students and their supporters have taken to the streets for weeks because they feel the government is doing too little, too late. The Education Ministry will receive an additional 1.2 billion euros ($1.9 billion Cdn.) in funding next year — but that won't be enough, according to opposition parties, who say the amount barely keeps up with inflation. 2 hours ago Wave of protests across France over cost of living Sarah Petz Protesters face police officers during a demonstration to protest against the high cost of living, in Paris on Saturday as part of a nationwide call for mobilization bringing together various groups expressing their anger: former 'yellow vests,' secondary school and university students, climate activists and even farmers.

Hundreds of demonstrations over the cost of living are taking place across France today as high school students, who have been holding protests over school conditions, band together with the country's (yellow vest) movement.

website set up by the organizers of Saturday's protests shows more than 800 rallies spanning all corners of the country were planned.

In Paris, posters announcing the return of the yellow-vest movement have appeared on the streets as organizers seek to bring together grievances ranging from education and working conditions to purchasing power and the cost of living.

The prospect of yellow-vest demonstrators returning to the streets will evoke memories of the 2018 protests over high fuel prices that developed into one of the biggest challenges to Emmanuel Macron's presidency.

Some protests descended into clashes with police, including on Dec. 1, 2018, when there was rioting around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Macron appealed for "calm and respect" on the eve of the protests, adding that the right to protest must go hand in hand with "respect for people and property," Le Monde reported Friday.