Student Loses Hand to Police Stun Grenade as French School Protests Continue

Paris: A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday after reportedly picking up a police stun grenade in the northern French town of Lens, as nationwide protests over dilapidated and understaffed schools entered their third week, local authorities confirmed.

Local prefect Francois-Xavier Lauch said the teenager's hand was blown off during the incident and that an investigation had been opened. According to a report by local newspaper La Voix du Nord, the teenager appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police, which detonated in his hand. The French Human Rights League accused security forces of using disproportionate force against protesters, many of whom are legally minors.

The protests began in late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages before spreading across the country, disrupting lessons at hundreds of schools nationwide, with nearly 500 institutions reported completely or partially closed as a result. In central Paris, students demonstrated outside schools including the Turgot high school in the 3rd arrondissement, holding placards criticising conditions in classrooms, while passing cars honked in support. In Bordeaux, some students returned to class while others continued protesting in the presence of riot police. At Paris's Lycee Vauquelin, bicycles and bins were set on fire during clashes, prompting an evacuation and suspension of classes, with school officials saying those responsible for the violence were not believed to be students of the school itself.

The wave of unrest has reportedly led to thousands of arrests nationwide as students continue to demand greater investment in overcrowded classrooms, additional teaching staff, and repairs to crumbling school buildings.