Interior Minister Laurent Nunez ordered a pause on stun grenades during the high-school movement after a 15-year-old lost a hand in Lens. He said there was a strong possibility a grenade caused the injury.
France's interior minister on Wednesday suspended the use of stun grenades in policing of high-school protests after a 15-year-old boy lost a hand during a clash in Lens. Laurent Nunez said there was a strong possibility that a stun grenade caused the injury and that he was pausing their use in the student movement until the facts were clear.
The incident was on Monday in the northern city. Authorities have not confirmed whether the boy picked up the grenade or was struck by it. Reuters said up to 200 protesters had been throwing projectiles when riot police intervened. The boy's mother told BFMTV, as reported by The Guardian, that his hand had been amputated and that he had not tried to pick up the grenade.
Nunez told lawmakers that accusations of police repression were excessive because officers were not intervening when protests were peaceful. He said 18 incidents had been referred to the police inspectorate. Rights groups, unions, students and some opposition politicians have accused police of disproportionate force.
The education ministry said classes were wholly or partly suspended in 429 of about 3,700 lycees on Wednesday, fewer than on Tuesday, The Guardian reported. Most Wednesday blockades were peaceful, Reuters said, though police used tear gas outside Sciences Po in central Paris.
The suspension is an operational order, not a finding on the Lens case. No timetable for restoring the grenades was given.
People Sentiments Negative
- Laurent Nunez said he was suspending stun grenades until the Lens case was clarified.
- The injured boy's mother said his life had been stolen and that he had not tried to pick up the grenade.
- Nunez told MPs that accusations of police repression were excessive.