Protests Close Hundreds of French Schools as Student Sustains Serious Hand Injury in Clashes
- On Monday, Education Minister Edouard Geffray ordered lessons suspended at between 400 and 500 high schools across France, citing unmet security conditions after nearly three weeks of student blockades and protests.
- Students across France have protested since mid-September over overcrowded classrooms with up to 35 pupils, teacher shortages, dilapidated buildings and long school days, with tens of thousands demonstrating in cities including Marseille, Strasbourg, Tours and Lille.
- Violent clashes have resulted in more than 5,000 arrests, about 85 percent of them minors, while 78 education staff members were injured and 24 schools burned or ransacked since the movement began.
- Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu vowed not to "yield an inch to violence" and pledged to accelerate a casseur-payer bill making those responsible for property damage liable for repair costs, as Geffray alleged far-left activists infiltrated the movement.
- Protest organizers called for continued demonstrations Tuesday, October 6, dubbed Act III, while teaching unions including the CGT, CFDT and FSU scheduled a national strike for the same day, citing lack of concrete government measures.
295 Articles
295 Articles
Student reportedly loses hand from police grenade amid France's education protests
A teenager's hand was blown off as high-school protesters clashed with riot police in northern France on Monday, a local official said, on the eve of a national demonstration by the pupils' union against underfunding, overcrowding and dilapidation.
France school protests: teenager’s hand blown off after picking up grenade
A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade as part of nationwide protests in France over classroom conditions that have disrupted lessons at hundreds of schools since last week. Some students returned to classrooms but others maintained actions outside their schools, ahead of a day of larger demonstrations expected on Tuesday. Authorities said the teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens. A police union sour…
The National Police Inspectorate General has initiated a police investigation into the student protests in northern France.
Observers criticise the police force in the student protests in France, and the security forces also have to complain about injuries. Now an incident in Lens causes horror: a grenade from the police apparently explodes in the hand of a 15-year-old.
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