Schoolchildren's protests continue in France: a teenager was injured in Lens

Clashes between police and protesting schoolchildren continue in France. One of the demonstrators, a 15-year-old teenager, whose hand was torn off, was seriously injured. According to preliminary data, he picked up a police stun grenade from the ground.

The prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, François-Xavier Losches, said the “very serious incident” involving the injured teenager occurred near the Auguste Beal Lyceum in the city of Lens in northeastern France on Monday morning.

“The student’s life is not in danger,” he said, adding that the teenager was “very quickly” taken to a nearby hospital.

According to him, a large group of students gathered near the lyceum building, more than in previous days. They began throwing stones and pyrotechnics at the police. A company of special police forces was sent to the scene to maintain order.

There have been conflicting reports in French media about exactly how the teenager was injured. Regional newspaper La Voix Du Nord reported that he lost his hand after picking up a police stun grenade (probably intending to throw it towards the police).

An AFP police union source said the youth appeared to have picked up a rubber grenade fired by riot police and it exploded in his hand.

On Monday, the lyceum administration announced that the educational institution was switching to distance learning.

Due to protests in France, about 500 schools are temporarily closed. As the country's Education Minister Edouard Geffret said, classes will be “fully or partially suspended in 400-500” secondary schools, since it was not possible to ensure safe conditions in them.

The minister also said that since the protests began, 24 schools have been “burned or looted.”

The protests began on September 17 at a Paris school but escalated into nationwide demonstrations last week, marked by outbreaks of violence involving protesters and security forces, who sometimes resorted to tear gas and batons to disperse crowds. Thousands of people take part in the events.

High school students and other citizens have expressed dissatisfaction with teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings.

On Friday, French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France's 3,700 schools had been affected "in one way or another" by violent protests.

The Education Secretary warned the number of schools affected on Monday could be comparable to Friday's, but promised a "partial, gradual resumption of classes".

“There are activists, particularly on the far left, who have infiltrated the high school movement, hijacked it from the students themselves, and resorted to extreme violence,” Geffre said. “This obviously poses a risk to both our staff and our students.”

Geffre added that 78 education staff were injured, which he described as "something we have never seen before."

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 1,747 people were arrested on Friday.

According to AFP, since the protests began, authorities have arrested a total of more than 5 thousand people, about 85% of them minors.

A 16-year-old teenager was detained on Sunday on suspicion of attacking a teacher in the southern French town of La Ciotat, Le Monde reported. On Friday, a 59-year-old teacher was beaten and doused with gasoline during a protest by high school students.

Last week in Belfort, eastern France, a group of teenagers were caught on video punching and kicking a policeman as he lay on the ground; the footage caused outrage among officials.

Two teenagers, Bulgarian citizens aged 15 and 17, were arrested and are being investigated on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, the prosecutor's office said.

One of the teenagers whom a police officer tried to detain before beating him has now filed his own complaint of attempted murder, his lawyer said.

Protest organizers called for demonstrations to continue on Tuesday, accusing the government of a lack of “concrete measures,” according to AFP.

On Sunday, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said his government was taking additional steps to “address the problems faced by high school students and teachers.”

According to him, measures include ensuring the continuity of the educational process, improving the material and technical base, more rational organization of the school day and increasing the transparency of the French platform for admission to universities.

Lecornu also said the government was speeding up consideration of a bill requiring vandalism to pay damages to ensure they bear the costs of the consequences of their actions.