French Police Disperse Student Protests with Tear Gas and Stun Grenades; Over 6,600 Detained, Teenager's Hand Blown Off

Thousands of students gathered near Place de la Bastille in Paris on Thursday afternoon, climbing the July Column monument, waving French flags and singing the Marseillaise. The demands of this movement, made up predominantly of minors, have yet to receive a substantive response, but the state apparatus has already responded in force. According to Deutsche Welle reports, Reuters television footage showed riot police charging at the crowd with batons, driving them out of the square.

Citing Interior Ministry data, Deutsche Welle reported that since the student protests erupted in late September, French police have detained more than 6,600 people, the vast majority of whom are under 18. On Thursday alone, approximately 71,500 people took part in protests across France, with police holding more than 500 in custody.

Deutsche Welle reported that police used tear gas, batons and stun grenades against the predominantly minor protesters. At the Hélène Boucher high school in northeastern Paris, after students set up roadblocks using trash bins, riot police assembled on both sides of the street and dispersed the protesters with tear gas. The school has been one of the focal points of protest clashes in Paris, with several hundred schools across France affected on Thursday.

Deutsche Welle noted that the protests were largely peaceful, though some demonstrators set fires and damaged bus stops. Human rights organizations and minors have accused police of using excessive force.

The turning point came on Wednesday: a teenager had his hand blown off. According to Deutsche Welle, the government announced that evening a suspension of the use of stun grenades for crowd control. Education Minister Édouard Geffray announced on Thursday evening during a TF1 television news program: "Within the coming hours, 3,000 teachers will be sent to these schools." The substitute teachers will take up their posts from Friday until next Tuesday.

In a televised address on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu pledged that the government would put forward a "concrete, rapid and fully funded response" by the end of October. But he simultaneously condemned "violence, attacks on students and teaching staff, injured police and gendarmes, schools burned down or damaged, thousands of class hours lost, not to mention threats and insults." Student protest leaders consider the government's pledges insufficient and have called for continued demonstrations.