A broken jaw, an amputated hand, and a gouged out eye... French police violence against students sparks protests

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Student protests in France are no longer limited to demanding better schools and more suitable educational conditions; Security dealing with students has become a major focus of the crisis, after serious injuries affecting minors, the spread of video clips of police interventions, and escalating demands to investigate the use of force. While the authorities insist on the need to confront riots and protect public security, human rights criticism is increasing regarding the proportionality of the force used to the ages of the protesters and the nature of the movements.

According to a report published by Reuters yesterday, Saturday, dozens of incidents related to the use of police force are subject to examination, while injuries to minors have become one of the most prominent files that put pressure on the French government.

One of the most prominent incidents that sparked shock was that a 14-year-old student suffered serious fractures in the jaw and severe damage to his teeth, after he was hit by a projectile fired by the police during a confrontation near a school in the Paris region. Press reports indicated that his family filed a complaint, while an investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of the use of force and the responsibility of the policeman concerned.

In the city of Lens in northern France, a 15-year-old student lost one of his hands as a result of a bomb explosion during a security intervention in the vicinity of his school on October 5. Another 16-year-old student suffered a serious eye injury, suspected to be related to a projectile used by riot police.

These facts confirm that the issue is no longer only related to dispersing gatherings, but rather about the safety of weapons and projectiles used in confrontations involving teenagers, and how to apply the rules of necessity and proportionality during security intervention.

The mobilization reached its peak on October 6, when more than 250,000 people took to the streets across France, according to Interior Ministry estimates reported by The Guardian newspaper, while organizers raised their estimates to about 450,000. Students, teachers, parents and trade unionists participated in movements that included Paris, Marseille, Lyon and other cities.

In the most recently documented national action on October 8, the Ministry of the Interior announced the participation of 71,500 people, including 24,500 in the Paris demonstration. While the Parisian movement passed mostly peacefully, other areas witnessed acts of violence and vandalism, which included the burning of a police station in Bordeaux and the vandalization of a school in Saint-Etienne, in addition to attacks on teachers, according to the authorities.

These numbers reveal a broad protest movement, but they also show disparities between cities and days of mobilization. Therefore, the volume of participation on the peak day should not be confused with its volume in subsequent moves.

Under pressure from injuries and criticism, the French government announced on October 7 the suspension of the use of stun grenades or stun grenades while dealing with student protests, pending an investigation into the injury of the student who lost his hand in Lens.

According to Reuters, the number of files examined by the General Inspectorate of the French National Police reached 24 cases related to the security handling of the protests as of October 10. The agency also counted 28 cases of injury related to the use of police force, based on interviews and legal documents, including severe injuries that included loss of vision or eye damage, and injuries that caused permanent damage.

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, are calling for a review of the use of rubber projectiles and grenade launchers, while police unions defend the need for non-lethal means of intervention to confront attacks and protect security personnel. Determining criminal responsibilities in individual incidents remains the prerogative of investigations and the judiciary, not the circulated clips alone.

Although scenes of confrontations topped the media scene, the demands of the protesters mainly relate to the crisis of educational conditions, the most prominent of which are:

Teacher shortage: Absence of teachers and insufficient compensation for them.

Deterioration of school buildings: Classrooms and facilities do not, according to the testimonies of students and teachers, provide an appropriate educational environment.

Overcrowding: The high number of students in classrooms and the difficulty of providing basic equipment.

Length of the school day: Schedules may extend from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Concern about university admission: Demands a review of Parcoursup, the French university application platform, which critics describe as confusing and stressful.

Education Minister Edouard Jefray has promised to provide additional teachers where there are gaps, review study schedules, and work to improve the university admission system. Prime Minister Sebastian Lecorno also pledged to provide concrete and fully funded responses by late October, but student leaders considered the promises insufficient and declared a commitment to continuing mobilization.

Observers believe that the indicators so far do not allow for certainty that the crisis is heading towards calming down. Suspension of sound bombs represents a direct government response to one of the most sensitive issues, but it does not resolve the controversy over the remaining means of dispersing gatherings or the results of investigations into minors’ injuries.

In contrast, protests cannot be reduced to police violence alone; Reuters also documented acts of sabotage and attacks on security personnel and teachers, while the authorities confirm that protecting schools, workers and students requires intervention when gatherings turn into violent acts. The main challenge before the government is to distinguish between peaceful protest that deserves protection, and violations that require accountability, and to ensure that the security response does not turn into an additional source of escalation of the crisis.

The coming days carry a double test. Will the government provide specific and implementable solutions to the school crisis before the end of October? Do investigations into student injuries lead to clear results that enhance accountability and public confidence? Until then, French streets remain an arena of confrontation between accumulated educational demands and growing questions about the limits of the use of force against minors.