French police face uproar over 'war-like injuries' to teenagers as school protest wave enters fourth week

French police are under mounting pressure after a 15-year-old boy named Evan lost his left hand and had several fingers on his right hand destroyed when a stun grenade exploded at a school protest in Lens, northern France. His lawyer says the injuries "resemble war injuries." French lawyers and rights groups have called the level of harm to children unprecedented; interior minister Laurent Nuñez has confirmed 36 internal police investigations, including four cases in which children were allegedly "mutilated" by explosive weapons. Over four weeks of blockades and marches demanding better-resourced schools, more than 8,000 people — the vast majority of them under 18 — have been arrested.

Evan had gone to attend class and played no part in any violence, his lawyer insists, flatly contradicting prosecutors.

More than 900 police officers and nearly 150 teachers have also been wounded as rioters use the protests as cover to attack security forces.

Prime minister Sébastien Lecornu argues that student anger is being exploited ahead of next year's presidential election, with yellow-vest figures pressing workers to join mass demonstrations this Saturday.