In Saint-Étienne, an investigation opened after a 17-year-old young man lost his hand while picking up a grenade

A young demonstrator had his hand torn off on Saturday in Saint-Étienne by a police grenade thrown by the police, AFP learned from a source close to the matter. According to initial information, the demonstrator picked up the grenade by hand, the model of which was not communicated by this source.

The Loire prefecture confirmed that a 17-year-old boy had been “seriously injured in the hand”, after initially indicating that he was in his twenties. The injured man was transported to the Saint-Étienne University Hospital, members of the event's medical staff who took care of him told AFP.

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Still according to these demonstrators, this young man's right hand was in tatters and he explained to them that he had picked up this grenade before it exploded. The demonstration “against the high cost of living” in Saint-Étienne was the scene of clashes with the police, shop fronts were broken and street furniture destroyed, AFP noted. An investigation was opened by the Saint-Étienne public prosecutor’s office “in search of the causes of the injuries” and entrusted to the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN).

On Monday October 5, a teenager had his hand torn off by a stun grenade fired on the sidelines of a gathering in Lens as part of the mobilization of high school students. Following this accident, the use of this type of grenade was banned by the government for this particular movement.