[Anchor]

Protests by French students demanding improvements to poor educational environments have spread nationwide, bringing hundreds of thousands of people into the streets. So far, about 6,500 people have been detained by police.

This report is from correspondent Kwon Yeongin in Paris.

[Reporter]

French students block roads and set fires.

Police fire tear gas in an attempt to forcibly disperse the students.

Protests by students demanding improvements to poor school conditions were held across France yesterday (October 6).

[Lou / French Student: School facilities are terrible and disastrous. What can you possibly expect when we study in classrooms exceeding 35°C (95°F) or infested with cockroaches?]

With over 50,000 people gathering in Paris alone, an estimated 260,000 people nationwide participated in the protests according to police, while organizers put the figure at 400,000.

Yesterday's protests were notably joined not only by high school students, but also by university students and regular adult union members.

As time passed, the protests grew increasingly intense, leading to physical clashes with police in various places.

The demonstrations, which have continued since last week, have resulted in a continuous stream of casualties, with a total of some 6,500 people detained by police and over 700 police officers injured.

Voices condemning a harsh crackdown are growing louder, especially after severe injuries occurred, including a protester losing a hand after picking up a police dispersion grenade and another suffering a broken jaw when police fired tear gas directly at a protester's face from close range.

[Hortense / French University Student: We came here to support the high school students as well. Leaving them alone is something we can never accept.]

Out of some 3,700 high schools nationwide, about 890 schools were closed or suspended some classes yesterday alone.

The French government has decided to suspend school classes until this weekend and hold dialogue sessions with students at each school, but student dissatisfaction with the government shows no signs of subsiding.

(Video Shooting: Kim Si-nae, Video Editing: Kim Jin-won)