Dramatic images show violent unrest sweeping across France

From Paris to Marseille, protests over the cost of living and school conditions gave way to scenes of rioting and looting on the streets of French cities.

Widespread violence erupted across France over the weekend, as rioters and looters ransacked storefronts, clashed with police and set fire to municipal buildings.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested and almost 1,000 police officers and firefighters were injured, the French Interior Ministry said, after some of the worst unrest the country has seen in years.

In cities across the country, demonstrators set fire to newsstands and smashed windows. The violence followed weeks of largely peaceful protests over the cost of living and school conditions that expanded with an attempt to revive the “yellow vest” movement Saturday.

In Limoges, a town in central France, dramatic scenes emerged overnight Saturday as rioters broke into the historic town hall and set it ablaze.

Aerial images the following morning revealed the smoldering remains of the 19th century building, which had survived two world wars, capping one of the most violent days in France’s recent history.

Across the country in Lyon, southeastern France, an elderly man wearing a gas mask fled from tear gas at the Place des Terreaux…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world