France school protests: Boy, 15, loses hand to police stun grenade in Lens

A 15-year-old boy has lost his hand after picking up a police stun grenade during school protests in the northern French town of Lens on Monday.

The local prefect, François-Xavier Lauch, confirmed the boy suffered a "very serious injury" near the Auguste Béhal high school but said his life was not in danger. He was rushed to a nearby hospital as clashes between students and riot police intensified outside the school gates.

France's police watchdog, the IGPN, has launched an investigation to clear up the circumstances of the blast. Local newspaper La Voix du Nord reported that the student had picked up the device before it detonated.

Dilapidated classrooms and empty desks

Tensions have spiralled across France, where between 400 and 500 schools were shut or partially blockaded on Monday. Teenagers are protesting against dilapidated classrooms, leaking ceilings, cockroach infestations, and a chronic shortage of teachers.

The unrest has met with a heavy police response. About 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested over the past week. Other serious injuries have also been reported, including a 16-year-old in Tours who lost the sight in his right eye after being hit by a suspected police rubber bullet.

On Monday, riot police clashed with students in Lille, deployed tear gas in Toulouse, and cleared an entrance barricade that had been set alight at a school in central Paris.

Clashes and political fallout

Seeking to defuse the anger, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the students' grievances "legitimate" and ordered ministers to draft proposals by the end of the month. The government has promised to review France's exceptionally long school days, replace absent teachers more quickly, and fund repairs.

But student and trade unions say the response is too slow. Sophie Binet, leader of the CGT union, accused the government of organising an "unprecedented crackdown" against high school students. Binet said union members would march in upcoming nationwide protests on Tuesday to help protect the teenagers from further violence.

The government, led by President Emmanuel Macron, is currently trying to pass a deficit-reduction budget, sparking wider public anxiety over public services. Education minister Edouard Geffray said on Monday that 24 schools have been burned or ransacked and 78 teachers injured since the protests erupted in a Paris suburb in late September.

Paris police chief Patrice Faure warned in an open letter that the students who started the movement had lost control of it, urging teenagers to stay away from blockades. Security officials are concerned that anarchist groups could hijack Tuesday's scheduled national protests, which are expected to draw thousands of parents, teachers, and public sector workers.