Teenager’s hand blown off as French school protests enter 3rd week
Protests in France over school funding and conditions have escalated, resulting in a teenager losing his hand after picking up a police dispersal grenade. The government and opposition parties are trading blame as the protests enter their third week.
Why it matters
The incident has intensified public debate regarding police tactics and government handling of youth-led social unrest ahead of a presidential election.
A teenager’s hand was blown off as high-school protesters clashed with riot police in northern France on Monday, a local official said, on the eve of a national demonstration by the pupils’ union against underfunding, overcrowding and dilapidation.
The regional newspaper La Voix du Nord said the 15-year-old lost his hand and part of his lower arm after picking up a police dispersal grenade that detonated in the town of Lens as the wave of school protests entered its third week.
François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, declined to comment on the exact circumstances, saying some 200 to 250 protesters had been hurling objects at police.
Six months before an election to replace President Emmanuel Macron, his government and the far-right National Rally, led by presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, have accused hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmakers and mayors of stoking the protests. The LFI denies the accusation.
Also covering this story
10 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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