LIMOGES, FRANCE - Police in France arrested nearly 1,000 people over the weekend in the latest round of violent demonstrations that are being blamed on students demanding better education. But there are strong political factions behind the violence.

More than a week ago, some of the worst destruction took place here at the town hall in Limoges, which had stood for 143 years. It took one night to destroy it. Masked rioters torched cars, smashed windows, and set the building alight, then cheered as the roof came down in flames.

Maj. Aurélien Sabourdy of the Limoges Fire Brigade said, "It's true that many of us were born in Limoges, and grew up in this city. And for us, the town hall was a major institution, one that connects all of its citizens. At first, when we understood there was a fire, it was emotionally hard for us."

For the people of this city, the loss is about more than a building.

Resident Pierre Truyot said, "Desolation. I never would have thought I'd see this in my lifetime, because it represents the Republic. It's the emblem of liberty, equality, fraternity."

"I'm very sad," Sylvie, another resident, said. "This is more like senseless vandalism."

They say the movement began with students angry about the state of their schools. It has since pulled in labor unions, farmers, and retirees, and every far-left group in the country, furious over the cost of living and proposed budget cuts. A week after the town hall was destroyed, the protesters came out again in force, chanting and clashing with police.

"We don't have any money for the culture, for the people in the medical field. We don't have anything. We just want rights. We just want a future," one protester said.

Over the weekend, CBN News was on the scene as the mood of the crowd started turning darker. The police noticed too, because they immediately started throwing tear gas grenades and flash-bangs at the crowd to disperse the crowd here.

"We do want our voices to be heard," a protester demanded.

Limoges was not alone. Across France on Saturday, police made hundreds of arrests, according to the Interior Ministry, as clashes broke out in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and other cities. Organizers are already calling for more protests in the days ahead.

The government responded by banning some protests and putting curfews and limits on the size of gatherings in cities across the country. In Limoges, it's also guarding what hasn't yet been burned.

Sylvie said, "It doesn't look like the demands of the students or the yellow vests that may be happening around the country right now."

You might wonder, if these protests are about lack of educational opportunity, why would they burn down the place where people would vote to give you more educational opportunity? All you have to do is look at the graffiti that was put here on the walls during the protests, and you'll see that this didn't have anything to do with education. It had to do with communism.

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Maj. Sabourdy said, "In France, there are a lot of protests right now, and they are legitimate, and they are normal. But the people who want to harm the state, who want to destroy, who want to set fires, they are being hunted down and arrested by the police."

The mayor of Limoges says it will take at least three years to rebuild the city hall. No one here can say how long it'll take to rebuild the trust between the French people and their government.

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