Tear gas filled the streets of Paris and Marseille as protests by high school pupils spread across France.
According to BBC News, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took part in marches calling for more resources in schools and less police repression.
Riot police clashed with protesters in Lyon, used tear gas in Paris and Marseille and water cannon in Rennes. However, there was little serious trouble compared with previous protests, reports BBC News.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned earlier violence. He said that 215 students and 85 staff members had been hurt along with 715 police officers since the protests began, according to the prime minister's statement.
The government reported disruption in 891 high schools on Tuesday, which is almost a quarter of all lycées. More than 250,000 demonstrators took to the streets during the day, the government said.
Students' unions put the number of participants at 450,000 and reported that 1,800 high schools were blockaded. They called it 'Act Three' of the movement, according to union statements.
In Marseille, thousands of demonstrators moved through the city, chanting briefly before police redirected their efforts, reports BBC News.
A group of masked protesters grabbed bollards and bins in an attempt to barricade themselves from police. Riot officers then fired tear gas, causing the protesters to disperse, according to reports.
Alissa, a student in Marseille, told BBC News that most of the protesters are not violent. She said they were protesting because schools had been closed and were falling apart.
Her friend Sacha added that the ceilings in the city's schools were leaking and conditions were poor, making it hard to work for long periods. He said they would continue until good measures were taken, according to his comments.
In parliament, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accused the radical-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of trying to sow chaos ahead of presidential elections in seven months, reports the BBC.
President Emmanuel Macron is nearing the end of his second and final term in office. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of LFI is currently the runner-up in opinion polls behind Marine Le Pen of the hard-right National Rally, according to BBC News.
Macron was scheduled to chair a meeting with ministers at the Élysée Palace on Tuesday evening to assess the situation, reports the prime minister's office.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray appealed from the start for dialogue rather than school blockades. He complained that ultra-violent elements had infiltrated the high-school student movements, according to the minister's statements.
Geffray is now under pressure to respond to the students' demands. Offers such as a website for grievances and an afternoon of internal discussion in schools on Friday have had little impact so far, reports BBC News.
Further protests involving school and university students are planned for Thursday by France's biggest union, the CGT, which has said there is little chance of the protests ending soon, according to union statements.
There is widespread concern over allegations of disproportionate force by police. France's IGPN police inspectorate has been investigating several cases, reports the BBC.
A police officer who fired a tear-gas grenade at a high school student at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, north-west of Paris, last week has been charged with violence resulting in mutilation or permanent disability, according to prosecutors.
Eden, 14, was hit in the face during a blockade at the Château d'Épluches lycée. His lawyer said he suffered a fractured jaw, with his upper teeth broken and four lower teeth missing, according to the lawyer's comments.
On Monday, a 15-year-old's hand was torn off near a school in Lens after a grenade was fired. Authorities say the teenager picked up a sting ball grenade that exploded. Students allege he was hit directly after an officer fired, reports BBC News.
The grenade is a non-lethal weapon. The local prefect said the incident occurred when police confronted 200-250 students throwing stones and fireworks, according to the prefect's statement.
The protests started in mid-September in the northern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis over overcrowded classrooms, lack of teaching staff and dilapidated school buildings. They have since spread to high schools across France, reports BBC News.
Late on Tuesday, the French interior ministry said a total of 6,547 people had been stopped or arrested by police since 28 September, according to the ministry.
Tuesday's protests attracted people of all ages. Alain and Michèle, a couple in their 70s, joined the march in central Paris to support the students. As former teachers, they understood the problems facing France's education system, according to their interview with the BBC.
Alain said they were the grandparents of three students who were mobilised. The students had protested peacefully in front of their high schools in Paris recently but were still tear-gassed, Alain told the BBC, his voice trembling, reports the BBC.
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