France Suspends Shock Grenades After 15-Year-Old Loses Hand in Nationwide School Protests
A 15-year-old boy suffered a severe hand amputation during nationwide student demonstrations in the northern French city of Lens, prompting the French government to temporarily halt police use of shock grenades, The Guardian reported. The incident unfolded amid escalating friction between protesters and security forces as hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets across France to protest teacher shortages, long school days, and deteriorating facility conditions.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the suspension of the dispersal devices on Wednesday during an interview with RTL, stating that the ban remains in effect until we know exactly what happened in this case.
The victim’s mother told French broadcaster BFMTV that her son had not attempted to pick up the device, while authorities noted that approximately 200 demonstrators were throwing objects at security forces when anti-riot police intervened.
Scale of the Demonstrations and Clashes Across France
The unrest stems from mounting grievances across the French educational system. According to TV 2, at least 250,000 people participated in nationwide demonstrations on Tuesday, though organizing groups claimed numbers reached up to 500,000. Around 1,800 high schools and 90 percent of the nation’s universities faced blockades or closures, with the Ministry of Education confirming that classes were canceled at 891 secondary schools.
Intelligence notes from regional police in Paris, reviewed by Nettavisen through reporting by Le Figaro and The World, describe the movement as unprecedented movement
(a hitherto unseen movement) that proved as violent as sudden
(as violent as they were sudden). The French Ministry of Justice reports that over 6,600 people have been arrested since the protests began in September, with approximately 85 percent of those detained being minors. Education Minister Édouard Geffray confirmed that 78 school staff members have been injured in targeted clashes, while Interior Minister Nuñez reported total injuries included 215 teenagers, 89 school employees, and 761 police officers.
Diverging Outlets and Competing Claims on Protester Tactics
Coverage of the unrest reveals stark contrasts in how different groups characterize the makeup of the crowds. While mainstream student organizations and leftist parties like La France Insoumise (LFI) frame the mobilization as a spontaneous defense of public education, security analysts tracking the protests point to the recurring presence of “Black Bloc” elements—groups of individuals dressed in black with concealed faces who engage in vandalism, property destruction, and direct clashes with law enforcement.
Meanwhile, international figures have weighed in on the domestic crisis. U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the demonstrations due to mass migration out of control
and argued that the unrest This is not about schools, this is about Islam wanting to take over a once great country.
Demands for Permanent Bans and Future Unrest
Amnesty International France has welcomed the government’s temporary suspension of shock grenades, but is pushing for a permanent prohibition. Anne Savinel-Barras, head of Amnesty France, stated that protests should not resemble battlefields, noting that shock grenades are explicitly designed to disorient and create panic in crowds, according to The Guardian. French authorities have opened 18 internal police investigations into crowd control tactics, including incidents where a demonstrator lost several teeth and another lost vision in one eye.