Teenager’s hand blown off as French school protests enter 3rd week

On Monday, a 15-year-old student lost his hand and part of his lower arm in Lens, northern France, during a clash with riot police. The incident occurred as the wave of school protests entered its third week, protesting against underfunding, overcrowding, and dilapidation in schools. The prefect of Pas-de-Calais, Francois-Xavier Lauch, declined to comment on the precise circumstances of the hand-loss event, mentioning that between 200 to 250 protesters had been throwing objects at police officers.

The government and the far-right National Rally party, led by presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen, have accused hard-left France Unbowed politicians and mayors of inciting the protests. Conversely, the LFI denies these allegations. Rights groups have criticized police for employing heavy-handed tactics, such as batons, tear gas, and flash-ball guns, particularly against minors.

An ongoing investigation examines a similar case from six months ago, where a 16-year-old suffered an eye injury after police fired rubber bullets into a crowd. The LFI, headed by presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon, denies fostering violence and accuses the government of politicizing the issue and ignoring students' needs.

The ongoing protests have strained a government already grappling with reducing a budget deficit, causing investors' concerns over France's financial state to rise, pushing the yield on 10-year bonds to a 24-year high of over 5%. More than 400 schools were partially or fully closed as demonstrations and blockades persisted before the planned nationwide protest on Tuesday.

The government maintains the protests have been hijacked and transformed into urban violence. Education Minister Edouard Geffray stated that 24 schools were burned or vandalized, and 78 teaching staff sustained injuries. On Monday, BFMTV captured images of police and students clashing in Lille, tear gas being deployed in Toulouse, and a fire ignited as individuals attempted to breach a school in central Paris.

Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalized Lycee Vauquelin in Paris, described the attack as "very violent and happening quickly," noting that she doubted the attackers' association with the school. Since Monday, 5,000 individuals, primarily teenagers, have been arrested, and dozens have been injured. Teachers and members of the public have faced assaults, with property damage estimated in the millions of euros.

The government announced that on October 27, a bill would expedite the process for financially holding young people or their parents accountable for damaging property. Security officials are apprehensive about the possibility of further violence during Tuesday's organized protests in central Paris, particularly worried about potential infiltration by far-left and anarchist groups.

Sophie Binet, head of the CGT labor union, expressed her members' intention to attend Tuesday's demonstrations to safeguard the students, emphasizing her dismay over the previous 10 days' events and the government's unprecedented crackdown.