France suspends stun grenades in student-protest policing after teen's hand blown off

The French government said on Wednesday it was pausing the use of stun grenades in policing student protests after a 15-year-old boy’s hand was blown off in a clash with riot police, Reuters reports.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ordered the suspension until there is more clarity around the Lens events, saying there was a “strong possibility” the firing of a non-lethal stun grenade caused the teenager to lose his hand.

“I am suspending their use for the high school students’ movement until light has been shed on what happened in this case,” Nunez said, adding that 18 investigations in total had been referred to the police inspectorate.

The move is the latest development in a more than two-week-old protest wave over dilapidated infrastructure, teacher shortages, overloaded schedules and a lack of funding. More than 500 schools closed on Wednesday, a day after demonstrations swept the country, with unions calling for another day of marches later in the week.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called the students’ demands “legitimate” but described the unrest as the most violent student demonstrations in decades, six months before a presidential election in which far-right and hard-left parties are the frontrunners to replace Emmanuel Macron.

The CGT, France’s second-largest trade union, said it would rally behind the student union’s call for further street protests on Thursday. The unrest is echoing beyond France: at least 107 people have been arrested in Liège in copycat Belgian actions, according to Belga; Portugal’s FENPROF teachers launched an indefinite strike in mid-September, and Madrid teachers plan a strike on 14 October.