Teenager's hand blown off during confrontation between France school protesters and police

What the report says

A 15-year-old boy in Lens, in northern France, lost a hand during a confrontation involving police and demonstrators near the Auguste Béhal high school on Monday, according to the prefect of Pas-de-Calais. Officials said the teenager was taken to hospital quickly and that his life is not in danger. The exact circumstances of the injury have not been confirmed, and French media have reported different accounts of how it happened.

The incident came during a wider wave of student protests across France over school conditions and staffing. BBC reporting said about 500 schools were partially or fully closed on Monday as demonstrations continued and clashes with police were reported in recent days. Local officials said the gathering outside the school was larger than on previous days and that some protesters threw projectiles at police before riot officers were deployed.

French authorities said the case will be investigated by the police watchdog, the IGPN, to establish what happened. The school responded by switching to remote learning and setting up support for pupils and staff. The episode has intensified attention on the protests and on police handling of unrest around schools, although the wider causes and outcome of the demonstrations remain separate from the boy’s injury.