France suspends stun grenades after 15-year-old loses hand in Lens

France suspended police use of stun grenades at student protests on 7 October after a 15-year-old's hand was blown off in the northern city of Lens on 5 October. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced the pause on radio broadcaster RTL, saying it would last until the facts of the incident are clarified. The decision follows days of nationwide demonstrations over school conditions that began in late September.bbc.co.uk

The suspension matters because it is the first government restriction on a police weapon used against a movement that has spread from high school pupils to parents, university students and unions. Nuñez said the pause applies specifically to the high school student protests. Police watchdog IGPN has opened 18 investigations to determine whether officers acted proportionately during the demonstrations, which have left at least 215 students, 85 staff and 715 police officers injured.aljazeera.com

What the suspension covers

The incident in Lens occurred near the Auguste Béhal high school when, according to the local prefect, police faced 200 to 250 students throwing stones and fireworks. Authorities say the teenager picked up the grenade before it exploded. Students allege he was hit directly after an officer fired. The stun grenade is classed as non-lethal but ejects small rubber pellets when it detonates.straitstimes.com

Nuñez told RTL he was suspending the weapon's use until the facts are established, adding that suspicion of disproportionate force always leads to judicial investigations. IGPN must determine whether the student picked up the grenade or whether it landed on him, and whether the shot was fired in line with regulations. The mayor of Wingles, where the teenager lives, said his hand was amputated and he has undergone a transplant.

The Lens case is not isolated. Last week, a 14-year-old student in north-west Paris was hit in the face with a tear gas grenade at such close range that he lost several teeth, and a policeman was charged on 6 October over that incident. Rights groups, students and parents' groups have accused authorities of using disproportionate force against minors, while the government says the movement has been hijacked by outsiders.

Conflicting accounts in Lens

Protests began in late September with students blocking entrances to hundreds of high schools for 15 to 17-year-olds, citing dilapidated facilities, overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages. On 6 October, hundreds of thousands marched nationwide. The interior ministry counted 488 arrests and 43 wounded security force members that day.

Since the protests began, 6,547 arrests have been made, including 488 on 6 October. The interior ministry said more than 6,500 people have been stopped or arrested, mostly minors. The Ministry of Justice said more than 1,800 people are being prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, without specifying the crimes. More than 500 schools remained fully or partially shut on 7 October.

Scale of the protests and arrests

President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting late on 6 October with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, Nuñez and Education Minister Édouard Geffray. Lecornu accused the hard-left France Unbowed party of fanning the protests, telling MP Mathilde Panot that lying about the government's intentions would not save her at the elections. France Unbowed's Manuel Bompard said it took several children being maimed for Nuñez to act.

Lecornu is due to address the nation on the evening of 7 October on school protests, fuel prices, the agricultural crisis and the country's finances, his office said. The government faces opening debates on the draft 2027 budget in the National Assembly finance committee the same day. Student union USL plans a fourth round of nationwide protests on Thursday, with headteachers' union SNPDEN-UNSA refusing to implement Lecornu's consultation plan.