French minister announces stun-grenade suspension at school protests

French interior minister Laurent Nuñez said on Wednesday that he had asked the previous day for police to stop using stun grenades at high-school student protests. He said the suspension would apply while the serious injury of a pupil in Lens was investigated. [2]

Le Parisien reports that a police telegram dated 6 October describes a precautionary suspension specifically of launcher-fired ASSD grenades during the student protests. [4]

The 15-year-old was injured near a school in Lens on Monday. The mayor of his home town said the boy’s left hand had been amputated. According to the local prosecutor, preliminary findings showed that police used tear-gas grenades and at least one stun grenade after warnings, while officers faced thrown objects and bins were set alight. Investigators have yet to establish how the pupil came into contact with a grenade or whether its use complied with the rules. [5]