Teen loses hand in grenade blast during France protests

A 15-year-old boy lost his hand and was rushed to hospital in critical condition after a stun grenade exploded in his grip during violent clashes with police in the French city of Lens, local media reported.

The incident occurred as riot police fired crowd-control munitions at a group of demonstrators. The teenager picked up a stun grenade from the ground and attempted to hurl it back toward the officers, but the device detonated before he could release it, severing his hand.

Emergency medical teams evacuated him to a local hospital where he remains in serious condition.

The confrontation in Lens is part of a wave of protests sweeping France in recent days, with students blocking the entrances to dozens of high schools across the country. The demonstrators, backed by far-left organizations and student committees, are protesting severe shortages of teaching staff and educational personnel, as well as the ongoing neglect of school infrastructure.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported approximately 1,747 arrests in the latest round of unrest. Since the protests began, more than 5,000 people have been detained, roughly 85 percent of them minors.

Education Minister Alexandre Portier said 78 educational staff members have been injured in the clashes, a figure he described as "unprecedented." Government officials have attempted to explain the escalating violence by pointing to infiltration by extremist elements. "Activists, primarily from the far left, have infiltrated the student protest movement, hijacked it, and engaged in extreme violence that poses a real danger to students and staff," Portier claimed.