French Police Face Scrutiny Over Extreme Violence at High School Protests
Human rights groups and lawyers in France have accused police of using excessive force against minors in high school protests, resulting in severe injuries and mass arrests.
Lawyers and human rights organizations in France have accused the police of using excessive force against minors participating in high school protests, leading to severe injuries, including the loss of limbs and vision. The demonstrations, now in their fourth week, represent the largest youth protest movement in France in decades.
Severe Injuries and Explosive Weapons
According to a report by The Guardian, authorities are investigating 36 allegations of police violence against protesters. These include four cases of severe physical mutilation caused by explosive devices, and six cases of significant injuries alongside complaints of beatings and alleged sexual assaults. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez presented the figures before the Senate amid concerns over an unprecedented number of minors held in police custody.
One of the most severe incidents occurred on October 5 in the northern French city of Lens. Owen, a 15-year-old vocational student, lost his left hand following the explosion of a police stun grenade outside a protest near a school. According to his lawyer, Bertrand Vatesse, the teenager also lost several fingers on his right hand and suffered injuries across his body. Vatesse stated that Owen was not involved in violence, rejecting the prosecution's claim that the teenager picked up the grenade from the ground.
Another case involves Aden, 14, who was severely injured in the face near a school protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumone, northwest of Paris. According to his lawyer, Elsa Marcel, the teenager was hit by a projectile from a riot gun fired from a distance of about one and a half meters. He suffered two jaw fractures, lost his lower teeth, and all his upper teeth were broken. His family filed an attempted murder complaint, and one police officer was suspended and placed under formal investigation.
Echoes of the Yellow Vests Movement
This week, an indictment was issued against a police officer in the western French city of Tours on charges of aggravated assault after Malo, a 16-year-old vocational student, lost the sight in his eye, allegedly due to a projectile similar to a rubber bullet launcher. The officer denies the charges, while the family's lawyer argued the teenager was not involved in violent clashes.
The use of explosive devices and crowd-control weapons has long sparked criticism in France, drawing comparisons to the severe injuries documented during the "Yellow Vests" protests in 2018 and 2019. According to French Ministry of Justice data, 6,773 minors have been taken into police custody since the school protests began in mid-September. Human rights organizations have raised concerns regarding the justification for these mass arrests.
