France’s internal police watchdog (IGPN) is investigating 24 cases linked to student protests across the country, including an incident in which a 14-year-old boy suffered a broken jaw and shattered teeth after allegedly being struck by a police projectile.
The teenager, identified as Eden, was injured during student protests in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône. According to the local prosecutor, Eden was sitting several metres away from the demonstration, looking at his phone, when a police officer approached and struck him with a baton. Eden responded by kicking the officer, after which another officer fired a tear gas grenade from a Cougar launcher, striking the teenager in the face.
The officer “shot him in the mouth and left him lying on the ground, without even calling the emergency services,” said Eden’s lawyer, Elsa Marcel. The prosecutor’s office said the officer was placed under formal investigation eight days after the incident on charges of assault by a public official resulting in permanent disability or disfigurement.
The case is among 24 incidents being investigated by France’s internal police watchdog (IGPN), in connection with student protests that have continued for more than two weeks.
Other reported incidents include protesters losing or suffering injuries to their eyes after being struck by rubber bullets, as well as a 15-year-old in Lens who lost his hand, allegedly after being hit by a stun grenade.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described the demonstrations as the most violent in decades.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, around 200 students have been injured during the protests. Authorities also reported that approximately 700 police officers had been injured and 6,887 people, mostly minors, had been arrested.
Teachers and members of the public have also been attacked, while several schools have been set on fire or ransacked.
The incidents have renewed debate over the use of so-called “less-lethal” weapons by French police, including rubber bullets and stun grenades.
France is among the few European countries where such weapons are used for public order policing. They are generally not deployed for this purpose in Britain, Italy or Germany, with the exception of Hamburg.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, and some politicians have called for a permanent ban on these weapons, arguing that their use can cause serious injuries.
“We must withdraw the use of rubber bullets and … aim for zero injured students. That will allow us to de-escalate,” Bally Bagayoko, a mayor from the left-wing France Unbowed party, told Reuters.
Police unions, however, maintain that officers need access to less-lethal weapons to maintain order during violent demonstrations and protect their own safety.
Thierry Clair, a police union representative, acknowledged that serious injuries, including Eden’s and the case of a teenager who lost his hand, were tragedies. However, he argued that such incidents should not lead to a broader rejection of France’s policing methods.
Clair attributed the escalation of tensions to violence involving some young protesters, saying officers needed appropriate tools to respond to confrontations.
“How do we respond when people are moving towards confrontation? If we remove intermediate force options, all we are left with is lethal force,” Clair told Reuters. “That is simply inconceivable.”
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