A 15-year-old student lost his hand near Auguste Béhal high school in Lens on Monday, after a clash that prompted France to suspend police use of stun grenades while investigators examine the incident. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said there was a “strong possibility” a non-lethal grenade caused the injury. The BBC reported conflicting accounts: authorities said the boy picked up the grenade before it exploded; students alleged an officer fired it directly at him.
The local prefect said police faced 200-250 students throwing stones and fireworks. When the grenade detonates, it sends out small rubber pellets. The student underwent an amputation. He remained in hospital.
The police response under scrutiny
Nuñez said 18 investigations had gone to the police inspectorate. He told French radio RTL that police watchdog IGPN had opened 18 investigations into whether officers acted proportionately. “There is a police action that raises questions for all of us within the Ministry of the Interior; it's what happened in Lens,” he said. He also said, “When there is suspicion of disproportionate force, there are always judicial investigations,” and added that the government was “here to protect high school students.” Rights groups, students and some political opponents accused police of using disproportionate force.
The protests began in mid-September. They continued through Wednesday. More than 500 schools closed fully or partly on Wednesday, after demonstrations the BBC said had disrupted almost a quarter of France's lycées on Tuesday. The interior ministry put Tuesday's turnout at more than 250,000; student unions said 450,000 took part. Unions called a fourth round of protests for Thursday in Paris and other cities.
The interior ministry said 488 people were arrested and 43 security-force members were hurt during Tuesday's demonstrations. Since protests began, 215 students, 85 staff and 715 police officers had suffered injuries, the prime minister said. The interior ministry said more than 6,500 people had been stopped or arrested. In some cities, police used tear gas and water cannon.
What students are demanding
Students point to dilapidated school buildings, teacher shortages, overloaded schedules, inadequate funding, poor learning conditions and inequality between regions. They blame these conditions for France's declining results in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which have fallen faster than the OECD average since 2015. French 15-year-olds scored 43 points lower in reading in 2025 than a decade earlier, the biggest drop in the OECD; their mathematics scores also fell the most.
They also want changes to Parcoursup, the platform for applying to first-year higher education courses, which students consider opaque and unequal. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called their demands “legitimate” and described the unrest as the most violent student demonstrations in decades. In a televised address, he said the country could not be “indifferent” and that the “anger of young people does not come from nowhere.” He said security forces had no orders to “confront” protesting students.
The government is consulting secondary students and has launched projects on cover for absent teachers, school repairs, timetables and Parcoursup. Lecornu promised a plan by the end of October. The Agora app, launched to collect young people's grievances, had received 30,000 anonymous contributions. President Emmanuel Macron met late Tuesday with Lecornu and other key ministers for an emergency discussion.
The government faces pressure to control public debt amid weak growth, while limited funds constrain staffing, school-building investment and efforts to address regional inequality. The draft 2027 budget provides for increased education spending, as the government seeks several tens of billions of euros in savings to repair public finances. Protests come six months before the presidential election to replace Macron; far-right and far-left parties were described as front-runners.
Across the border, similar grievances
The left-wing CGT, France's second-largest trade union, backed the student union's call for Thursday's protests. “The CGT will continue to shoulder its responsibilities in supporting the young people who have mobilised and protecting them from violence and police repression,” it said. Ryad Rani, head of the USL high school union, told French radio: “We are telling M. Nuñez, calm your police officers down and call for restraint.” Some police unions responded coolly to the stun-grenade suspension, invoking their right to withdraw from duty and citing “their inability to respond” if unrest occurred.
In Liège, in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region, hundreds of students rallied over rising education costs, overcrowded classrooms and difficulty getting study materials. Local media reported 107 arrests in recent days; France 24 reported at least 107 arrests connected with protests that month. Authorities advised shopkeepers to close early. Liège's main train station closed, then reopened, while police urged people to avoid the city centre. Videos circulating online showed shattered glass, fires, mostly young protesters and police blocking roads.
Some Belgian students said they were in contact with French counterparts. “We support each other because we're facing pretty much the same issues,” said 19-year-old student Alfred. Amelia Di Salve, also 19 and studying to become a teacher, said the Belgian movement began earlier in the year and gathered new energy after students saw demonstrations in France. In Portugal, teachers began an indefinite strike over overtime in mid-September, refusing unpaid work beyond the legally mandated 35-hour week. In Spain, Madrid teachers planned a strike for October 14 seeking fewer hours, smaller classes and higher salaries. The grievances cross borders. So do the protests.