French school protests escalate as teenager loses hand from explosive grenade

A 15-year-old schoolboy lost his hand in Lens after picking up a police stun grenade during nationwide student protests, Sky News, Metro.co.uk, and LBC reported. The incident occurred as student demonstrations across France grew increasingly violent. [1][3][4]

France has closed up to 500 schools on Monday due to the ongoing student protests, according to the BBC as cited by Sky News. In addition to the grenade incident, violence intensified across multiple locations, including reports from the Sun and the Irish Sun that a school was set alight while teachers were still inside. [1][5][6]

In a separate incident during the student riots, another 15-year-old boy was arrested after being captured on video using an improvised flamethrower against a woman, according to reports from the New York Post, the Telegraph, and the Independent. [2]

A blast ball or stinger grenade is a non-lethal rubber-coated device used by law enforcement during riot control to release chemical irritants, loud noise, bright light, and sometimes rubber fragments. [8]