15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday after reportedly picking up a police grenade during nationwide protests in France over classroom conditions.
Authorities said the teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens. A police union source said he appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police, which exploded in his hand.
The incident occurred as students continued protests outside schools across France, ahead of larger demonstrations expected on Tuesday.
Since late September, students have blocked the entrances to hundreds of schools, protesting teacher shortages, overloaded timetables, dilapidated classrooms and buildings poorly adapted to rising temperatures.
More than 400 of France’s 3,700 high schools were partially or completely closed on Monday morning, according to the education ministry.
The protests have occasionally escalated into vandalism and clashes with security forces. According to the education minister, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked since the movement began, while more than 5,000 people, 85 per cent of them minors, have been arrested.
The French Human Rights League has accused security forces of using disproportionate methods against protesters, many of whom are minors.
Meanwhile, the government has announced measures to address teacher shortages and improve school infrastructure as the protests continue.