Fires, barricades, and fraternité: 7 photos show the scale of the protests sweeping France

Hundreds of thousands of students have taken to the streets all over France.

Muhammed Said Tako/Anadolu via Getty Images Protests have taken France by storm over the past few weeks.

Hundreds of thousands of high school students are protesting against underfunding in education.

Clashes between protesters and police have led to injuries and arrests.

What started as a peaceful demonstration in a southern suburb of Paris in late September has evolved into nationwide protests across France.

Hundreds of thousands of high school students, parents, teachers, and union members have taken to the streets this week to protest what they say is underfunding in education, citing concerns such as dilapidated buildings and teacher shortages.

The protests have spread to more than 40 French cities, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Rennes.

The protests spanned the whole of France.

Miguel MEDINA / AFP via Getty Images In the photo above, student protesters can be seen taking to the streets in Marseille in the south of France.

The streets of Paris were crowded with protesters on Tuesday, October 6.

An estimated 450,000 people participated in the protests.

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP via Getty Images The French Government counted 265,000 demonstrators on October 6.

Organizers said the number was closer to 450,000.

Students are demanding renovations to run-down buildings, a mass hiring of teaching staff, and changes to the university application system.