The streets of France are on fire. The protests grew larger and clashes continued throughout the night in many cities.

The student protests, which started in high schools in poor suburbs in France as a reaction to the teacher shortage and neglected schools and lasted for about a month, were supported by the "yellow vests" who take to the streets every year against the high cost of living, farmers protesting fuel prices and climate activists, and the streets became chaotic.

While the protests turned into a mass anti-government movement across the country targeting the high cost of living and public expenditures, the most violent clashes of recent years took place in many cities between thousands of people who took to the streets and the police. The events continued throughout the night as security forces intervened in the crowds with tear gas.

France woke up on Sunday morning to images of burnt, collapsed buildings and debris from the protests that lasted throughout the night.

There are violent clashes between demonstrators and police in various cities, where historical buildings, vehicles and containers are set on fire and looting occurs.

The police intervened with pressurized water and tear gas, and the demonstrators responded with fireworks.

Supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury stores, cosmetics shops and electronics stores were looted in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg.

Yesterday, while it was difficult to intervene in the fire that broke out in the historical building, which was built by Architect Tony Desjardins in 1852 and used as a military station and police station in the past, in the city of Marseille, many protesters forced their way into the entrance door of the city hall in the Old Port area.

The group chanted slogans such as "The revolution has begun, we are taking over the Bastille" and damaged items in the entrance hall. While the bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic, was also toppled, various writings were written on the walls.

Last night, in the city of Limoges in the central part of France, the 140-year-old town hall (above), which was broken into by masked demonstrators during ongoing protests against the "high cost of living", was set ablaze.

As the demonstrators in Bordeaux entered the Chamber of Commerce and Industry building, tension broke out between the security forces and the protesters. In Rennes, transportation was disrupted on some roads due to barricades set on fire by demonstrators.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu condemned these intense incidents of violence and said that 1,200 people were detained and 150 police officers were injured.

In his statement before the demonstrations, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the right to protest should be respected and said, "The right to demonstrate is fully respected, but this right must also bring with it respect for persons and property."