Buildings attacked and police use tear gas during nationwide protests in France

The tourist office in Lyon was set on fire, according to CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV, amid escalating, nationwide protests over inadequate school conditions and soaring living costs.

People wearing hoods attacked the building in the French city, smashing windows and igniting a fire before looting the property, BFMTV reported.

Emergency services are expected at the scene shortly.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across France today as part of student protests that have been ongoing for nearly a month.

Here’s what we know about today’s demonstrations so far:

What’s happened so far today?

Protests began in cities across France this morning local time, in places including Rennes, Lyon, Marseille and Paris.

In the French capital, hundreds of people gathered at Place de la République, where today’s main march is expected to begin. Things escalated quickly, with police deploying tear gas in the square and charging into the crowd. A small group of protestors aimed fireworks at police lines.

Police in Lyon also launched tear gas grenades to disperse around 300 people who had mobilized outside the city’s Jean Moulin University, according to CNN’s French affiliate BFMTV.

What’s still expected to occur?

Today’s march in Paris was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

France’s Interior Ministry will also be holding a crisis unit meeting at 6 p.m. this evening (12 p.m. ET), BFMTV reported, citing sources.

The chiefs of staff for the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the Minister of Justice will be in attendance, it reported.

Who’s taking part in the protests?

Though the recent protests in France were started by students, people from different walks of life and across the political spectrum are expected to attend today’s demonstrations.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left La France Insoumise has backed the student movement and is expected to show up at demonstrations in support of the protesters and their demands.

Some farmers have discussed staging tractor protests, while taxi drivers have already begun staging rolling roadblocks and blockades around Paris airports and say they intend to continue through Saturday.

The gilets jaunes, or Yellow Vests, have also been present at demonstrations today.

How has the government responded?

Speaking last night about today’s planned protests, French President Emmanuel Macron asked for “calm.”

The Paris Police Prefecture, the body that oversees the Paris Police Force, emergency services and various other administrative departments, has defended the actions of its officers and criticized “hostile” demonstrators.

CNN’s Joseph Ataman, Elina Baudier Kim and Charlotte Reck contributed to this reporting.

The Paris Police Prefecture, the body that oversees the Paris Police Force, emergency services and various other administrative departments, has defended the actions of its officers and criticized “hostile” demonstrators.

“We do not back down in the face of rioters and those who’ve come to attack law enforcement,” the supervising unit said in a post on X.

“At #République, police officers are being confronted by hostile individuals intent on violence.

“They are standing their ground with courage and professionalism,” it added.

In a follow-up post, it shared footage of hooded, masked protesters appearing to launch projectiles, wield weapons and smash bricks on pavements.

“The procession will set off at 2pm. Hostile individuals are present at Place de la #République,” the caption accompanying the video said, adding: “Have they come to protest?”

Today’s demonstrations in France are expected to be the biggest yet, with tens of thousands of activists from multiple movements joining an estimated 60 marches, and around 250 planned actions including roadblocks and building blockades, across the country.

Here’s a rundown of who is expected to participate.

Yellow Vests: The gilets jaunes, or Yellow Vests, are part of a grassroots citizens’ movement established in 2018, when more than 250,000 people protested a hike in fuel tax. Named after the yellow high-visibility jackets French motorists must carry in their vehicles, the Yellow Vests are comprised of people from across the political spectrum and have contributed support to a range of protests since they emerged almost a decade ago.

Students: High school students demanding more teachers, reduced class sizes and better building conditions will make up a significant portion of those on the streets. They have been protesting since late September.

Far-left groups: Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise has backed the student movement and is expected to show up at demonstrations in support of the protesters and their demands. The party also described the protests as a potential starting point for a much broader movement, and is demanding a cap on fuel prices.

Farmers: Some farmers have discussed staging tractor protests.

Taxi drivers: Drivers have already begun staging rolling roadblocks and blockades around Paris airports and say they intend to continue through Saturday.

CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne and Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting.

Amid the tens of thousands of protesters expected to take to the streets across France today are the gilets jaunes, or Yellow Vests, part of a grassroots citizens’ movement that began almost a decade ago.

The movement dates back to 2018, when more than 250,000 people protested a rise in fuel tax announced by the government, which it said was to fight against climate change.

The protests – named after the yellow high-visibility jackets French motorists must carry in their vehicles – morphed into broader demonstrations against French President Emmanuel Macron and his government in the weeks following November 2018.

They often turned violent, with at least 10 people dying in connection with the protests in their first six weeks.

The French government made many concessions in the first weeks of the initial Yellow Vest protests, including scrapping the initial fuel tax, and implementing a 10 billion euro ($11.05 billion) package of wage rises and tax relief for the poorest.

The Yellow Vests have taken to the streets several times since those first protests died down. In 2020, police took more than 250 people in for questioning and fired tear gas during violent scenes involving the movement in Paris.

People from across the political spectrum have taken part in Yellow Vest protests, including anarchists, anti-immigration populists and hard-core fascists.

There are even groups on social media claiming to be environmental “yellow jackets,” a direct contradiction of the original protesters’ demands to scrap a new eco-tax.

Some have blamed a radical fringe of the Yellow Vest movement for a rise in anti-semitism in France.

A 2019 study conducted by the Fondation Jean Jaures showed that 50% of those who participated said they believed in a “global Zionist conspiracy.”

CNN’s Melissa Bell, Saskya Vandoorne and Gianluca Mezzofiore contributed to this reporting.

A challenging summer of heatwaves cast disarray across France’s education system as classrooms without air conditioning became unbearable and examination timetables were disrupted.

This, plus long-standing concerns over inadequate staffing and school conditions, prompted thousands of teenagers to flood the street and demand change.

So, what is it that French students want?

Student union leaders representing the teenaged protesters have urged a €10 billion investment (around $11.2 billion) in high school and university-level education.

Major priorities include more teachers; reduced class sizes and buildings appropriately adapted to withstand climate change, ensuring they remain fit-for-purpose throughout the year.

Students also wish to negotiate their workloads, end a controversial university admissions system, create more student accommodation and end police violence against students.

Protests were initiated after students joined teachers to protest understaffing and a lack of resources at just one school in a Paris suburb on September 21. When demands were met, and extra staff were deployed to the school, demonstrators mobilized throughout Paris and across the country, signaling a nationwide appetite for change.

The government has been criticized as too slow to respond to the requests made by demonstrators, with some suggesting government inaction is emblematic of the students’ frustrations at going unheard, and a reason for their sustained anger.

CNN’s Melissa Bell, Saskya Vandoorne, Lucie Lepellec and Billy Stockwell contributed reporting.

Meanwhile, student demonstrations were also held across Italy yesterday to protest against the precarious state of public schools and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s recent cap on foreign students in classrooms.

Several events turned violent, including in Rome, Bologna and Turin, where police used tear gas to break up the crowds. In Rome, police say thousands of people marched from the Colosseum to the ministry of education building where they set fires and were met by police in riot gear.

“This is not a democratic expression of dissent, nor a defense of schools, but an attack on institutions and political hooliganism,” said Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara, who was the subject of many of the posters.

Other signs showed Meloni and other ministers hanging upside down in a nod to the demise of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini with “killing a fascist is not a crime” written below.

Many protesters held signs that had phrases in French or that said “do it like the French” in solidarity with student protests there.

In several cities, protesters lit trash cans, set off paper bombs — Molotov cocktails — and used fireworks against police. In Turin, many teachers joined the marches.

The day of mobilization came after schools were occupied in Milan, Naples, Turin, Genoa, Bologna and Rome.

Protests have begun this mid-morning local time, in Rennes, Lyon and Marseille, with 40 people detained in the Paris region, according to authorities.

Police used tear gas to disperse crowds in Marseille and Lyon, while the majority of the detentions in Paris were linked to possession of weapons or prohibited protective gear, police said.

Paris police have banned gatherings in a string of locations across Paris, including government sites and train stations.

Speaking this morning on French TV channel Franceinfo, Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Paris suburb Saint-Denis who has become something of a symbolic figurehead for protests, spoke to their objective.

Bagayoko has been applauded for defending students from police on the streets, while some critics have slammed his comments legitimising some violence.

Videos of police officers beating students, launching tear gas, water cannon and baton charges at crowds of young people have shocked France in recent weeks.

Images of a teenager in Lens, north France, who reportedly lost a hand to a police grenade and another who was shot in the face with a police tear-gas grenade at near-point-blank range have left many reeling.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez ordered the temporary suspension of one type of stun grenade by police following the loss of the boy’s hand. That ban - which still allowed police to use several different grenades - has now been rescinded.

There have been signs of the police trying a new approach. Some police units have taken to removing their riot helmets to present a softer image, although officers without helmets still clashed with young protesters outside Paris on Friday morning.

While student representatives remain fixed on obtaining tangible results for the education sector, police violence and a government many feel is not listening to them is fuelling the anger of many on the streets.

Given the call for Yellow Vest protestors to join Saturday’s events, there are fears of more violence. Some 900 police officers have been injured in the recent weeks’ protests. According to the interior ministry, only 248 students have been injured, prompting public skepticism.

Some police units have been confiscating handmade signs at protest events, eliciting accusations of limits on free speech. In a conversation with high schoolers organised by French newspaper Le Parisien, Nuñez said that such practices (when signs were not insulting or could not be used as a weapon) was “not normal.”

France is braced for massive protests after weeks of student-led anger on the streets.

But today’s protesters are set to be broader, with the far left, unions, farmers and Yellow Vests having promised to join students Saturday, with some 500 protest events planned nationwide.

Many will be marching in solidarity with the weeks-long student protests, which have faced heavy handed policing.

Calls for protests have also been driven by the high price of gas. Authorities are warning of a “convergence of causes” according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

Authorities expect up to 100,000 protestors on Saturday outside the capital, with tens of thousands more within Paris. The student-led protests have been the largest in years in France, with no sign yet of an off ramp for the anger coursing through France.

Paris’ police have banned marches targeting Place de la Concorde, which sits beside the presidential palace.

“It’s not normal,” Coppélia Moreau, from the organising committee of the Paris region Interfac student organisation, said Friday of the decision to ban some of the proposed routes, accusing the government of hypocrisy.

Stay with us on this page as we bring you the latest developments.