Teen loses hand picking up grenade as French student protests enter ‘black week’

A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade as students across France demanded better classroom conditions in a days-long wave of protests that have erupted into blazes and barricades at some schools, while disrupting lessons at hundreds nationwide.

The incident occurred ahead of larger demonstrations expected on Tuesday, dubbed "Act III" by a secondary school students' union, as social media calls mounted for a "black week" of protests.

Authorities said the teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens. A police union source said he appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police and that it exploded in his hand.

The 15-year-old, who was hospitalised in Lille, is "out of danger", said Francois-Xavier Lauch, the prefect for the northern Pas-de-Calais region.

More than 400 of France's 3,700 high schools, known as lycees, were partially or totally closed on Monday, the education ministry said.

Since late September, students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of schools, complaining of teacher absences, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings ill-adapted to rising temperatures, among other grievances. High-school students protest in the southwestern town of Bordeaux.

"It's clear the education system isn't working," Alma, a pupil at the Lycee Charlemagne in central Paris, told AFP.

The unrest ignited just months before 2027 elections that will determine the successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

Watch more Why are French students blocking their school entrances?

The government has sought to address the grievances, while accusing hard-left activists of having hijacked the protest movement.

"They think that just because they're letting us express ourselves on a platform, on the internet, we'll stop blocking access and being angry, but this anger has been here for years," said Simon, also a pupil at the Lycee Charlemagne.

The French Human Rights League (LDH) on Monday accused security forces of using disproportionate methods against protesters – many of whom are legally minors.

Internal investigations have been opened into at least six instances of alleged police brutality, according to a source close to the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

24 schools damaged

In central Paris, dozens of teenage students demonstrated outside a school while passing cars honked their horns. Some classmates made their way inside to attend lessons.

"We're missing our lessons to give you one," read one cardboard sign outside the Turgot high school in Paris.

Some protesters outside the Gustave Eiffel high school set off fireworks in the direction of police, who responded with tear gas, but overall the situation remained calm, AFP reporters said.

The movement started on September 17 at a high school in the Paris suburb of Creteil, in support of teachers striking over a lack of staff and resources.

It gained momentum and spread across France – at times spiralling into vandalism – including the destruction of bus shelters, the burning of school entrances and clashes between protesters and security forces. Some made their way into class

Since the start of the movement, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked, according to the education minister.

More than 5,000 people – 87 percent of them minors – have been arrested.

'Parental responsibility'

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu on Sunday urged local authorities to prioritise filling gaps left by long-term teacher absences and unfilled posts.

He called a meeting for Tuesday with regional presidents to discuss overhauling the country's often-dilapidated school buildings.

The government is also pushing legislation to make those responsible for damaging public property pay for repairs themselves, instead of drawing on public funds.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the bill. Broken door windows at the Nicolas Louis Vauquelin vocational secondary school in Paris.

"When you have 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds who, at 9 am, are burning bus shelters or – perhaps even more seriously – the high school where they study, that raises the question of parental responsibility," she told the Europe1/CNews broadcaster.

Lecornu has said the draft law could allow compensation payments to be recovered from family allowances and housing benefits, while preserving a minimum income threshold.

The head of the main labour union (CGT), Sophie Binet, slammed what she called a "populist announcement", which she said would "end up targeting the most vulnerable families".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)