A 15-year-old student lost a hand when a grenade exploded during a student protest in the French city of Lens on Monday. Accounts of how it happened differ. A police source said the teenager picked up a grenade. A police union representative said it may have been a crowd-control grenade fired by riot police and that the boy might have tried to throw it back. The competing account has not been independently confirmed.
Student protests come amid anger over school conditions, teacher shortages and the learning environment. The Education Ministry said protests or disruptions affected 413 schools on Monday morning, 27% fewer than on Friday. In the Paris region, about a third of 468 secondary schools were affected. A new nationwide action is planned for Tuesday.
Students have cited overburdened schedules, too few teachers, deteriorating buildings and inadequate infrastructure, including as temperatures rise. Clashes in Lille left a bus shelter damaged and rubbish bins burning. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said 24 schools had been burned or looted. Authorities say more than 5,000 people have been detained during the unrest, 85% of them minors.
The government is proposing that those responsible pay for damage to public property and that deductions be allowed from some social benefits. Unions and left-wing politicians have criticised the plan. CGT Secretary-General Sophie Binet called it populist and warned that families already facing hardship would be affected.