Teenager loses hand picking up grenade in France school protests

A 15-year-old pupil mislaid a manus connected Monday picking up a constabulary grenade arsenic portion of nationwide protests successful France implicit schoolroom conditions that person disrupted lessons astatine hundreds of schools since past week.

Some students returned to classrooms but others maintained actions extracurricular their schools, up of a time of larger demonstrations expected connected Tuesday.

Authorities said the teen was injured successful the bluish municipality of Lens. A constabulary national root told French quality bureau AFP helium appeared to person picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot constabulary and that it exploded successful his hand.

Since precocious September, students person blocked the entrances to hundreds of schools, complaining of teacher absences, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings ill-adapted to rising temperatures, among different grievances.

Bilal Narjissi, a 17-year-old protester, told CBS News his schoolhouse had a rat infestation. Student person Daphnee Die said the unit has been sparked by the students' frustration.

"It's understandable, but it's getting truly dangerous, and that's wherefore we're informing students to beryllium harmless during these events," Die told CBS News.

The unrest erupted months earlier elections adjacent twelvemonth that volition find the successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron.

The authorities has sought to code the grievances, portion accusing hard-left activists of having hijacked the protestation movement.

The French Human Rights League connected Monday accused information forces of utilizing disproportionate methods against protesters, galore of whom are legally minors.

"We tin spot that successful the instructions fixed to the police, determination is nary directive to amusement restraint, adjacent though they are dealing with children," league President Nathalie Tehio said.

"We're missing our lessons to springiness you one"

More than 400 retired of France's 3,700 precocious schools, known arsenic lycees, were partially oregon wholly closed connected Monday morning, the acquisition ministry said.

A 3rd of the 468 lycees for teenagers aged 15 to 17 were expected to beryllium closed successful the Paris region, authorities said.

In cardinal Paris, dozens of teenage students demonstrated extracurricular a schoolhouse portion passing cars honked their horns. Some classmates made their mode wrong to be lessons.

"We're missing our lessons to springiness you one," work 1 cardboard motion extracurricular the Turgot precocious school, located successful Paris' 3rd arrondissement.

In Bordeaux, successful the southwest, immoderate students returned to the schoolroom portion others continued to show successful the beingness of riot police.

Some protesters extracurricular the Gustave Eiffel precocious schoolhouse acceptable disconnected fireworks successful the absorption of the police, who responded sporadically with teardrop gas, but wide the concern remained calm, AFP reporters said.

In the bluish metropolis of Lille, masked protesters destroyed autobus shelters and acceptable occurrence to dustbins, arsenic constabulary fired teardrop state toward demonstrators.

The question started connected Sept. 17 astatine a precocious schoolhouse successful the Paris suburb of Creteil, successful enactment of teachers striking implicit a deficiency of unit and resources.

It gained momentum and dispersed crossed France, astatine times spiraling into vandalism, including the demolition of autobus shelters, the burning of schoolhouse entrances and clashes betwixt protesters and information forces.

Since the commencement of the movement, 24 schools person been burned oregon ransacked, according to the acquisition minister.

More than 5,000 people, 85% of them minors, person been arrested.

Protesters person besides accused the constabulary of utilizing excessive force, and interior investigations person been opened into astatine slightest 3 instances of alleged constabulary brutality.

French leaders scramble to respond

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu acceptable retired a timetable connected Sunday urging section authorities to prioritize filling gaps near by semipermanent teacher absences and unfilled posts.

He called a gathering for Tuesday with determination presidents to sermon overhauling the country's often-dilapidated schoolhouse buildings.

The authorities is besides pushing authorities to marque those liable for damaging nationalist spot wage for repairs themselves, alternatively of drafting connected nationalist funds.

Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon defended the bill.

"When you person 14-, 15-, 16-year-olds who, astatine 9 a.m., are burning autobus shelters oregon — possibly adjacent much earnestly — the precocious schoolhouse wherever they study, that raises the question of parental responsibility," she told the Europe1/CNews broadcaster.

Lecornu has said the draught instrumentality could let compensation payments to beryllium recovered from household allowances and lodging benefits portion preserving a minimum income threshold.

The caput of the main CGT labour union, Sophie Binet, slammed what she called a "populist announcement," which she said would "end up targeting the astir susceptible families."

In:

• Protest
• France