French police under scrutiny as student protest injuries and arrests mount

A teenager's broken jaw and a disputed account

Fourteen-year-old Eden suffered a broken jaw and multiple smashed teeth when a tear gas canister was fired at him at close range by a police officer last week during student protests in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, his parents and family lawyer said. The teenager had been sitting on a wall looking at his phone metres from the protest. According to the local prosecutor, an officer struck him with a baton, prompting him to kick out, and a second officer then fired a tear gas grenade from a Cougar launcher that hit him in the face. The prosecutor's office said the officer told investigators he was seeking to protect himself and his colleagues after the student confronted police.

Family lawyer Elsa Marcel described the moment in these words:

(The officer) shot him in the mouth and left him lying on the ground, without even calling the emergency services.

The family has filed a complaint for attempted murder and asked that the teenager's second name be withheld to protect their privacy. A police spokesperson said the force does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Formal investigation and a wider pattern

The officer was placed under formal investigation on Tuesday, eight days after the incident, for assault by a public official resulting in permanent disability or disfigurement. The case is one of 24 under investigation by the IGPN, the internal police watchdog, linked to policing of more than two weeks of student unrest. Reuters has documented 28 cases of injuries caused by police force, 15 of them among the IGPN cases, involving rubber bullets, stun grenades, tear gas, batons and charges on horseback. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described the demonstrations as the most violent in decades. The police response has renewed calls to withdraw rubber bullets and grenade launchers, which rights groups including Amnesty International have criticised as dangerous and disproportionate.

Arrests, detentions and injuries

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said a 15-year-old lost a hand in Lens, most likely from the explosion of a stun grenade, and suspended the use of stun grenades until the incident is clarified. He said on Wednesday that about 200 students were injured during the protests, though few of those cases were caused by police action, while authorities reported 700 injured police officers. In total, police had detained 6,877 people, most of them minors. Justice Ministry figures compiled on Thursday evening and published on Friday put the number above 6,900, with 86% of those detained being minors, and proceedings had been started against 2,376 of them.

Of those detained, 1,547 people had been presented to a judge, including 1,239 minors, and 21 were in pretrial detention, including six minors. On Friday, the Education Ministry said 141 of roughly 3,700 institutions were still closed, down from 157 the day before.

Paris march and the government's offer

On Thursday, about 25,000 students gathered at Place de la Bastille after marching through central Paris, according to estimates. Riot police used tear gas and munitions in the evening to disperse the crowd, and some protesters threw bottles and paving stones at officers. Eliane, a 16-year-old who took part in the march, called the demonstration magnificent and explained why she was there:

to defend and encourage the high schools that are in an even worse situation than mine.

Education Minister Édouard Geffray told TF1 on Thursday evening that about 3,000 substitute teachers would be assigned to around 100 high schools with the most severe staff shortages, with first measures applied from Friday until Tuesday. On Friday, he said a digital platform for student complaints had already received about 66,000 reports, which he called "a sign of democratic maturity." Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the government would propose changes to the 2027 budget draft so that some student demands become concrete measures, especially replacing absent teachers. Protest organisers were not persuaded by the government's response.