About 50 police officers were injured and more than 500 protesters were arrested during clashes near Place de la Bastille in Paris Thursday.

The protest, attended by about 25,000 students, follows days of demonstrations and rioting that swept across the country in cities such as Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lyon, Rennes, and Paris, with protesters holding signs that said “The state has killed national education.

At times, the protests turned violent, as protesters lit fires in the streets and police used tear gas, batons, and non-lethal grenades to disperse the crowds, leading to more than 6,000 arrests, as well as injuries among more than 700 police officers.

A 15-year-old boy lost a hand Monday after picking up a grenade that was supposed to be non-lethal.

Students are protesting a long school day that begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Others have cited unsanitary conditions such as rat infestations and leaking pipes.

The protests erupted against the backdrop of weakening growth and burgeoning debt as the government struggles to perform basic tasks such as passing a budget since President Emmanuel Macron and his allies lost their majority in a parliamentary vote about two years ago.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu described the protests as the biggest in decades, telling lawmakers that at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff have been injured in the riots. He said that this constitutes “the heaviest toll in decades paid by the school system.”

Macron convened an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the situation.