France suspends use of stun grenades to police student protests
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the suspension will last until investigators clarify the incident after 18 internal probes into police conduct.
- On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that students waging three weeks of protests have "legitimate" grievances but warned they are being "exploited" by political forces, demanding "concrete responses" within weeks.
- Students have blocked entrances to hundreds of lycées—high schools for children aged 15 to 18—in recent weeks, protesting absent teachers, overcrowded classrooms, and dilapidated facilities in France's under-resourced schools.
- Authorities and unions dispute the scale of recent protests, with the interior ministry reporting 161,500 participants versus unions claiming 480,000, while the ministry has opened 36 internal investigations into alleged officer violence.
- The family of 15-year-old Evan, who lost his hand to a police stun grenade, initiated legal action demanding an "impartial" investigation, while far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen vie for student support.
- Authorities remain on high alert for additional student rallies planned for Saturday, October 17, as the government deploys 3,000 substitute teachers to replace absent staff at the 114 worst-affected high schools.
466 Articles
466 Articles
Sound bombs and rubber bullets that turn school protests into tragedy... a student losing his hand and another who breaks his jaw, and the detention of thousands of children in France provokes a lot of legal criticism.
Tuesday's demonstrations mobilized in France between 161,500 people, according to the Ministry of the Interior, and 480,000, according to student unions
The spokesman Maud Bregeon reported that the president demanded measures on facilities, timetables, orientation and teacher substitutions, while recognizing the legitimacy of youth claims and denouncing their political use
As the high school movement continues, the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, says he is in favour of the idea of rethinking the school rhythm. A way to "lighten a little everyone, teachers as well as students".
Emmanuel Macron has called on the French government to contribute "concrete solutions" to student protests, after more than 7,000 detainees and a thousand...
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