LENS, FRANCE — A 15-year-old protester lost his hand and part of his lower arm on Monday after a police stun grenade detonated in the northern French town of Lens. The incident occurred as high school students clashed with riot police, marking the third week of nationwide demonstrations.
The regional newspaper La Voix du Nord reported the teenager picked up the device before it exploded. François-Xavier Lauch, prefect of Pas-de-Calais, declined to specify the exact circumstances but said 200 to 250 protesters were hurling objects at police during the confrontation.
The protests, which began in September in Paris's deprived suburbs before spreading nationally, focus on underfunding, overcrowding and deteriorating conditions in high schools. Between 400 and 500 schools were closed or partially closed on Monday, with a national demonstration planned for Tuesday by the pupils' union.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said 24 schools have been burned or ransacked since the protests began, and 78 teaching staff members have sustained injuries. Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told CNews television that the government's priority is to "restore order," saying the protests have been hijacked and morphed into urban violence.
Images broadcast on BFMTV showed police and students clashing in Lille, tear gas deployed in Toulouse, and a fire lit during an attempt to break into a school in central Paris. At Lycee Vauquelin in Paris, head Carole Zerbib said a group wearing hoods and masks tried to force entry and lit a fire, leading to the school's evacuation and class suspensions. Zerbib described the event as violent and said she did not believe the attackers were from the school.
Since last Monday, authorities have arrested 5,000 people, 85 percent of whom are teenagers. Dozens of individuals have been reported injured across the country.
Rights groups have accused police of using heavy-handed tactics against minors, citing the use of batons, tear gas and flash-ball guns. Authorities are investigating several cases related to police methods, including a 16-year-old who suffered an eye injury after police fired rubber bullets into a crowd.
The unrest unfolds six months before an election to replace President Emmanuel Macron. His government and the far-right National Rally, led by presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen, have accused lawmakers and mayors from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) of stoking the protests. LFI, headed by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, denies these accusations, saying it does not encourage violence. LFI instead accuses the government of politicizing the issue and neglecting students' interests.
The protests are adding pressure on the government's efforts to narrow a budget deficit. Investor concerns about France's state finances have grown, pushing the yield on the country's 10-year bonds to a 24-year high above 5 percent last week, increasing the likely cost of future government borrowing.
