France Halts Use of Stun Grenades as Student Protests Escalate Over Teen's Injury

The French government announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily halt the use of stun grenades in its handling of the nationwide student protests that have gripped the country, following an incident in which a 15-year-old boy lost his hand during a confrontation with riot police.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that he had ordered the suspension until the circumstances surrounding the events in the northern city of Lens on Monday were fully clarified. He acknowledged a "strong possibility" that the discharge of a non-lethal stun grenade was responsible for severing the teenager's hand. "I am suspending their use for the high school students' movement until light has been shed on what happened in this case," Nunez said, adding that a total of 18 investigations had been referred to the police inspectorate.

The decision comes amid mounting accusations from human rights organizations, student groups, and political opponents who claim that French police have employed disproportionate force during the more than two-week-old wave of demonstrations. The unrest has laid bare deep-seated public frustration just months ahead of national elections, with critics arguing that the government's response has been heavy-handed.

The injured teenager is believed to have been picking up a grenade when it detonated, according to earlier reports. The incident has become a flashpoint in the protests, symbolizing what demonstrators describe as the excessive militarization of law enforcement. A photograph from a Paris demonstration showed a placard that twisted a common slogan, crossing out "Listen to the kids" and replacing it with "Tear their hands off," a stark reference to the injured protester.

The protests, which show no signs of abating, have led to the closure of more than 500 schools across France as of Wednesday—a day after demonstrations swept through the country. Trade unions have called for another day of street marches later in the week, with the left-wing CGT union, France's second-largest, announcing it would support the student union's call for further protests on Thursday, stating it would protect young people "from violence and police repression."

At the heart of the students' grievances are dilapidated school infrastructure, chronic teacher shortages, overloaded schedules, and insufficient funding for education. The demonstrators argue that these poor learning conditions are directly responsible for France's declining performance in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The data is stark: French 15-year-olds scored 43 points lower in reading in 2025 than they did a decade earlier, marking the largest drop in the OECD. Mathematics scores also saw the steepest decline among member nations.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has publicly acknowledged the "legitimate" nature of the students' demands, but simultaneously characterized the unrest as the most violent student demonstrations the country has witnessed in decades. The government finds itself in a precarious position, caught between addressing genuine educational shortcomings and managing a fiscal environment that offers little room for new spending. Under pressure to tame public debt amid weak economic growth, officials have scant resources to tackle complaints of understaffing, a lack of investment in ageing school buildings, and regional inequalities in education.

The political landscape further complicates the government's response. Far-right and far-left parties are currently the front-runners in the presidential race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, whose term ends in six months. The protests have therefore become a stage for broader political battles, with opposition figures using the unrest to criticize the administration's handling of both education and law enforcement.

The wave of discontent is not confined to France. In Belgium, students in parts of the country have launched copycat actions, echoing the grievances of their French counterparts. In the southern French-speaking region of Wallonia, specifically the city of Liege, at least 107 people have been arrested in connection with student protests this month, according to the Belga news agency. Teachers in Belgium have also joined strike actions.

In Portugal, the main teachers' union FENPROF launched an indefinite strike in mid-September, protesting overtime requirements. The union stated that educators were refusing to perform any unpaid work beyond the 35-hour workweek mandated by law. FENPROF issued a statement expressing solidarity with the French movement, noting that "the underlying causes of the protests reflect problems familiar to teachers and students in other countries: deteriorating school conditions, teacher shortages, excessive workloads, and widening inequalities in access to education."

The suspension of stun grenades represents a rare concession from a government that has otherwise taken a firm stance on maintaining public order. However, the move is unlikely to quell the broader movement, which has tapped into a deep vein of discontent regarding the state of public education and social inequality. With unions planning further demonstrations and students refusing to back down, the coming days will test the government's ability to balance security concerns with the growing demand for meaningful reform.

The investigations into the Lens incident, along with the other 17 cases referred to the police inspectorate, will be closely watched as a measure of police accountability. For now, the suspension of stun grenades serves as a temporary measure, but it does little to address the root causes of a movement that has exposed profound anxieties about the future of France's education system and its youth—anxieties that will inevitably shape the political discourse in the lead-up to the next election.