France halted police use of stun grenades at high school protests after a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police-launched device.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has suspended police use of stun grenades at high school student protests after a 15-year-old lost a hand in an incident involving a police-launched device, as demonstrations over conditions in schools continue across the country.
RELATED: Student Protests Sweep France Over School Underfunding
Nuñez announced the suspension Wednesday in an interview with French radio RTL, saying it would apply only to high school student protests and remain in place for as long as necessary to establish what happened.
The 15-year-old was injured in Lens, northern France, after picking up a dispersal grenade launched by police, according to a police union source. A 14-year-old student in the northwest of Paris also lost several teeth when a tear gas grenade exploded at very close range.
The move came after another nationwide mobilization Tuesday drew 256,000 students, teachers and parents. The government has rejected allegations of police repression during the protests, which have resulted in more than 6,500 arrests, most of them minors.
🔊 A 15-year-old lost his hand when a police stun grenade exploded in France, as school protests over crumbling classrooms and funding shortages enter their third week. Listen to the Reuters World News podcast for more https://t.co/GOeW9rvDXG pic.twitter.com/JEyzhd5fre
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 6, 2026
The demonstrations have been largely peaceful but have occasionally turned violent. The government has reported injuries to 215 students, 715 police officers and 85 members of teaching staff. Nuñez said police had opened 18 internal investigations into allegations of misconduct since the protests began.
Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party, criticized the suspension, saying it had taken several children being left permanently injured for Nuñez to stop using grenades against high school students.
🇫🇷 The school community is in shock after a 15-year-old protester in the northern French town of #Lens lost his hand in a confrontation with #police on Monday.
Video footage shows the teen collapsed on the ground after the incident, which police watchdogs are investigating.… pic.twitter.com/SDEzuOv0b4
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) October 6, 2026
Students aged 15 to 18 have blocked hundreds of high schools since September to protest teacher shortages, overloaded schedules and deteriorating classrooms that are unable to withstand rising temperatures.
President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency meeting Tuesday with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and other key government officials to address the situation.
Lecornu is due to address the public Wednesday on the protests and public finances, as the government faces a heated debate over the 2027 budget. It has proposed fiscal adjustments worth more than $60 billion to contain a large deficit and record public debt.
Securing parliamentary approval is expected to be difficult in the months leading up to the 2027 presidential election to choose Macron’s successor, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading in opinion polls.
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