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France has announced a temporary halt to the deployment of stun grenades by riot police during the ongoing student protests that have swept the country, following an incident in which a 15-year-old boy lost his hand during a confrontation with law enforcement. The decision, confirmed on Wednesday by Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marks a significant concession by the government as it struggles to contain a wave of demonstrations that has now entered its third week and shows no signs of abating.
Nunez stated that he had issued orders to suspend the use of the non-lethal weapon until investigators could establish a clearer picture of the events that unfolded in the northern city of Lens on Monday. According to the minister, there is a "strong possibility" that a stun grenade fired by police was responsible for severing the teenager's hand, though he emphasized that the circumstances remain under review.
"I am suspending their use for the high school students' movement until light has been shed on what happened in this case," Nunez told reporters, adding that a total of 18 separate investigations had been referred to the police inspectorate. The suspension applies specifically to operations involving high school students, who have been at the forefront of the protest movement.
The incident in Lens has become a flashpoint in a broader national conversation about policing tactics and the treatment of young demonstrators. Rights organizations, student groups, and political opponents of the government have accused French police of employing disproportionate force throughout the protests, which have exposed deep-seated public frustration with the state of the country's education system.
The protests, which began more than two weeks ago, have been driven primarily by high school students expressing anger over deteriorating school infrastructure, chronic teacher shortages, overcrowded class schedules, and what they describe as a broader lack of investment in public education. These grievances have resonated widely, drawing support from trade unions and opposition parties across the political spectrum.
On Wednesday, the scale of the disruption was evident as more than 500 schools across France remained closed, one day after demonstrations spread through multiple cities. Union leaders have called for another day of street marches later in the week, signaling that the movement is far from losing momentum. The CGT, France's second-largest trade union, announced it would support the student union's call for further protests on Thursday.
"The CGT will continue to shoulder its responsibilities in supporting the young people who have mobilised and protecting them from violence and police repression," the union said in a statement, underscoring the growing alliance between organized labor and the student movement.
The students' complaints extend beyond physical conditions. They point to France's declining performance in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, as evidence that the education system is failing. According to the rankings, French 15-year-olds scored 43 points lower in reading in 2025 than they did a decade earlier, representing the largest drop among OECD member countries. Mathematics scores also fell more sharply in France than in other participating nations.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has acknowledged that the students' demands are "legitimate," but he has also characterized the unrest as the most violent student demonstrations France has witnessed in decades—a characterization that protesters and their supporters dispute, arguing that the violence has largely stemmed from police responses rather than student actions.
The political context surrounding the protests is particularly charged. France is now just six months away from a presidential election, and far-right and far-left candidates are currently leading in the polls to replace President Emmanuel Macron. The student movement has thus become intertwined with broader public discontent that the government may struggle to address in the limited time remaining before voters head to the ballot box.
Compounding the government's challenges, weak economic growth and the need to tame rising public debt have left little fiscal room to address the students' core complaints. Increased funding for teacher salaries, modernization of aging school buildings, and efforts to reduce regional inequalities in education would all require substantial investments that the current budget framework may not accommodate.
The unrest has also shown signs of spreading beyond France's borders. In neighboring Belgium, students in parts of the country have launched what appear to be copycat actions, with at least 107 people arrested in connection with student protests this month in the city of Liège, located in the southern French-speaking region of Wallonia, according to the Belga news agency. Teachers in Belgium have also joined strike actions.
In Portugal, the main teachers' union, FENPROF, launched an indefinite strike in mid-September to protest overtime requirements, with educators refusing to perform unpaid work beyond the 35-hour workweek mandated by law. The union issued a statement drawing parallels between the French protests and the challenges facing education systems across Europe.
"The underlying causes of the [French] protests reflect problems familiar to teachers and students in other countries: deteriorating school conditions, teacher shortages, excessive workloads, and widening inequalities in access to education," FENPROF said.
The developments in France come amid a broader European context in which governments have faced mounting pressure on public budgets as they respond to successive cost-of-living and energy crises. Education spending has frequently become a target for austerity measures, fueling resentment among students, teachers, and their families.
For now, the suspension of stun grenades represents a tactical retreat by the French government as it seeks to de-escalate tensions. Whether it will be enough to calm the protests—or whether it signals the beginning of a broader reckoning over policing methods and education policy—remains to be seen in the days ahead.
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