The high school protests, which started in the Ile-de-France region, where the capital Paris is located, and then spread throughout the country with the support of different groups, including farmers, workers and teachers, continue.
Taking action with demands such as increasing the number of teachers and improving classroom conditions, young people continue to besiege high schools and block school entrances.
The disproportionate use of force by the police in the protests in which 24 schools have been set on fire, more than a thousand people, including security forces, have been injured and more than 6,500 people, mostly young people, have been detained is being discussed.
A young man's hand was severed, a young man lost his eye
In the French province of Val-d'Oise, police used a Cougar-type throwing weapon against a high school student. The 14-year-old young man, who was injured when pieces from the gun hit his face, was taken to the hospital.
While the young man's jaw and teeth were broken, an investigation was opened against the police officer who intervened on the grounds that he used "violence that caused mutilation and permanent wounds". It was announced that the police officer, who was taken under judicial control, was suspended from his duties in public areas until further notice.
During the Courbet High School protests in the city of Belfort, images of the police allegedly trying to drown a teenager they caught near the Savoureuse River attracted reaction on social media.
While the young man who was subjected to violence filed a criminal complaint against the relevant police officer, the Vesoul Public Prosecutor's Office announced that an investigation was launched on the charge of "attempted murder".
During the protests in the city of Lens in the north of France, a stun bomb exploded in the hand of a 15-year-old student. It was reported that the young man lost his hand as a result of the incident.
A 16-year-old young man named Mael, who was hit by a rubber bullet during the protests at Balzac High School in the city of Tours, lost the sight in his right eye. The investigation into how the incident developed continues.
Government suspends police use of stun grenades
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez instructed the security forces not to use stun grenades within the scope of high school protests held across the country.
The police's use of shock bombs, which can cause shortness of breath, have a sound of 160 decibels and have the effect of tear gas, as well as bombs that scatter ammunition when thrown to the ground and rubber bullets, which are used to disperse the crowd, were criticized by politicians.
Leftist Unyielding France (LFI) MP Thomas Portes said in a statement on the social media platform of the US-based X company that tools such as sound and shock grenades used by law enforcement forces are "weapons of war".
Emphasizing that the use of these weapons should be banned in all social movements, Portes reminded that they started a signature campaign in the National Assembly to take steps in this direction.
European Parliament (EP) member Rima Hassan from the LFI party stated in her post that France is the only country in Europe that uses these bombs to intervene in social movements.
On the other hand, the Socialist Party (PS), the second largest left party in the parliament, also took action against police violence. PS Group Deputy Chairman Boris Vallaud reminded that most of the activists were minors and emphasized that law enforcement officers should not use some intervention weapons in such actions.
Vallaud announced that they will submit a bill to the Parliament to ban the use of defensive weapons by the police and harsh techniques such as strangulation.
Reaction to police violence from non-governmental organizations and politicians
During the protests that have been going on for about 3 weeks, the number of investigations opened by the IGPN, the French national police monitoring and investigation agency, regarding the use of disproportionate force has increased to 18.
Members of the Legal Action Collective (CAJ), including the lawyers of the young people detained during the protests, reacted to the police's "physical violence, insults and humiliation attempts" and pointed out that the number of detentions was quite high.
Amnesty International called on the French government to reduce tensions and prevent disproportionate police intervention.
The French League of Human Rights (LDH) also reacted to the oppression of high school students and underlined that schools are centers of education, not battlefields.
Police violence in the protests that have been going on for days has also come to the agenda of the National Assembly.
