French teenagers suffer severe injuries during school protest crackdown
Several teenagers have sustained war-like injuries from police weapons during school protests in France. Over 6,700 under-18s have been taken into custody since mid-September.
War-like wounds and mass arrests as French school protests enter fourth week
French lawyers and rights groups have accused police of inflicting severe injuries on teenagers during school protests, with four children allegedly "mutilated" by explosive weapons, theguardian.com reports. An unprecedented number of under-18s have been held in police custody, with some reporting physical abuse and racial insults during their arrests.
France is now in the fourth week of its largest youth protest movement in decades. Hundreds of high schools across the country have been blockaded by students demanding the replacement of absent teachers and repairs to deteriorating school buildings.
Interior minister Laurent Nuñez told the senate that police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officer violence against demonstrators. These include four children allegedly mutilated by explosive weapons, six who sustained significant injuries, and further complaints relating to physical blows, insults and alleged sexual assault.
Hand blown off at a Lens school protest
Evan, a 15-year-old carpentry student at a vocational high school, lost his left hand and several fingers from his right hand when a police stun grenade exploded outside a school protest in Lens, northern France, on 5 October. He also suffered injuries to other parts of his body and remained in hospital in a serious condition.
His lawyer, Bertrand Wattez, said Evan had gone to school that day to attend class and found a protest already under way. Wattez denied the Béthune state prosecutor's assertion that Evan had picked the grenade up from the ground, and said his client had not taken part in any violence. "His injuries resemble war injuries," Wattez said. The family has filed a criminal complaint.
Jaw fractures and lost teeth in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône
Eden, 14, suffered extensive facial injuries near a school protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, north-west of Paris. He sustained two jaw fractures, lost his bottom teeth and had all his top teeth broken after he was allegedly struck by a shot from a grenade launcher fired at close range — from approximately 1.5 metres, according to his lawyer, Elsa Marcel. "This is the equivalent of war weaponry," Marcel said. Eden's family has filed a legal complaint for attempted murder.
Video footage appeared to show Eden facing three riot officers. One officer struck in his direction with a truncheon; Eden kicked towards the police, and a grenade shot was then fired. An officer has since been suspended and placed under official investigation.
Eden's parents said he had found his school blockaded and had simply wanted to go home.
Eye injury leads to battery charge in Tours
A police officer in the western city of Tours was charged this week with aggravated battery after Maël, 16, lost the use of one eye. The injury allegedly resulted from a shot fired by a rubber-bullet launcher during a school protest. The officer denies the charges. Maël's family lawyer said he had not been involved in any violent confrontation and had merely been present at the protest. The family has expressed a sense of "injustice."
France's history of contested police weapons use
France has faced scrutiny over its police use of explosive weapons for several years. During the 2018–2019 gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests, serious injuries were reported — including allegations that demonstrators lost eyes and had hands and feet mutilated. The current wave of youth protests has reignited those concerns.
Record number of under-18s held in custody
Since the school protests began in mid-September, 6,773 under-18s have been taken into police custody following their arrest, according to the justice ministry. Of those, more than 1,000 were released without any charges. A further 2,190 face legal action, while almost 2,000 were given an alternative measure — such as a citizenship course — without their case proceeding to trial and without a conviction.
Lawyers said accusations against children included gathering with violent intent, violence against police officers and damage to property.
Nathalie Tehio, a lawyer and president of the French Human Rights League, said the high proportion of cases that would not reach a judge raised concerns that many arrests were unfounded. "There are a record number of arrests," she said. "Often, the legal dossiers are empty. In reality, this is more about stopping people from demonstrating. I think there is a sense of hitting hard to try to dissuade people and scare them."
Tehio also said her organisation had received accounts of racist comments made during arrests, and that lawyers reported clients had been humiliated, treated violently or pushed.
Romain Boulet, co-president of France's Association of Criminal Lawyers, said criminal lawyers were "worried and raising concerns about the potential misuse of police powers to dissuade citizens aged under 18 from demonstrating."
Mohamed Jaite, president of the Paris branch of the Syndicat des Avocats de France, said he had personally seen a young person limping at a police station after an arrest. "Some have reported being humiliated or receiving racist and sexist insults," he said.
Prisca Ancion, of the leftwing lawyers' group Collectif d'Action Judiciaire — which demonstrated this week outside a high school in Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris — said: "There have been racist insults during arrests, as well as homophobic, sexist comments or sexual touching. We encourage families to file complaints."
Her colleague Romane Bartoli, who assisted several teenagers after their arrest, said: "Youngsters told us they were slapped, kicked or punched."
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)