France suspends stun grenades after teen loses hand during student protest in Lille

France has suspended the use of stun grenades during student protests after a 15-year-old boy lost his hand in an incident involving the device earlier this week.Interior minister Laurent Nuñez said he had ordered the suspension until the circumstances surrounding Monday's incident in Lens had been “clarified”. Protesters and officials have given different accounts of what happened.The decision comes as criticism grows over police tactics during demonstrations that have spread from school pupils to parents, university students and trade unions.“There is a police action that raises questions for all of us within the Ministry of the Interior; it's what happened in Lens,” Nuñez told French radio RTL. He confirmed that the use of stun grenades would be suspended “until the facts surrounding this case have been clarified”.Conflicting accounts over teenager's injuryThe 15-year-old suffered severe injuries after a so-called anti-encirclement grenade exploded near the Auguste Béhal high school in Lens, a city in northern France near Lille.Authorities said the teenager picked up the grenade before it exploded. Students, however, have alleged that a police officer fired the device directly at him.The local prefect said police had been confronted by a group of around 200 to 250 students throwing stones and fireworks when the incident occurred.The weapon is classified as non-lethal but releases small rubber pellets when it detonates.“When there is suspicion of disproportionate force, there are always judicial investigations,” Nuñez said, adding that the government was “here to protect high school students”.France's police watchdog, IGPN, has opened 18 investigations into whether officers used proportionate force during the protests.More injuries and investigations as protests continueConcerns over police conduct have also been raised after a 14-year-old boy was hit in the face by a tear gas grenade during a protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, north-west of Paris, last week.His lawyer said the teenager lost several teeth and suffered a fractured jaw. A police officer has been charged in connection with the incident.Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they had also opened an attempted murder investigation after a 17-year-old protester alleged that an officer “held his head underwater” while attempting to arrest him near a river in Belfort in north-eastern France.The protests continued on Wednesday, with more than 500 schools fully or partially closed. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was due to address the school protests in an evening speech.Hundreds of thousands of people took part in Tuesday's demonstrations, with tear gas and water cannon used in some cities. The Interior Ministry said 488 people were arrested and 43 security personnel were injured.Government faces growing pressureThe protests began in mid-September and have resulted in injuries to 215 students, 85 school staff and 715 police officers, according to figures cited by Lecornu.More than 6,500 people have been stopped or arrested since the protests began, the Interior Ministry said.President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with Lecornu and other senior ministers on Tuesday night after nearly a quarter of France's lycées were disrupted. Government figures put Tuesday's turnout at more than 250,000 protesters, while student unions estimated it at 450,000.A fourth round of protests is planned for Thursday in Paris and other cities. The head of the USL high school union, Ryad Rani, called for restraint from police.“We are telling M. Nuñez, calm your police officers down and call for restraint,” he told French radio on Wednesday.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.