A French police officer has been charged after a teenager was blinded by a rubber bullet during student riots that have rocked the nation.
asserted
that → charge → nation
The officer was charged with aggravated violence on Tuesday after allegedly firing the bullet at the 16-year-old protester in Tours, France on Sept 30.
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officer → charge → Sept
The family of the injured pupil have blamed the police.
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family → injure → police
France has suffered days of disorder and violence sparked by failing school conditions, with high school students joined by far-Left activists and Antifa-linked extremists in clashes with riot police across the country.
Police have been involved in ongoing battles with balaclava-clad demonstrators who have set fire to schools and attacked teachers.
Students, unions, rights groups and parents have accused the police of brutality against the students, with some of the young protesters maimed.
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some → suffer → protesters
Earlier this month, a student, 15, had his hand blown off after trying to throw a stun grenade back at police near the Auguste Behal high school in Lens, northern France.
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hand → have → Lens
The boy, known as Evan, picked up a police stun grenade, intending to throw it back, only for the device to explode and rip his hand off.
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device → know → hand
A car catches fire on Boulevard du Montparnasse during the protest on October 13, 2026
Protestors clash with the police in front of Ecole Militaire on October 13, 2026
Protesters form a human chain as they face off with French riot police amid clashes on the Boulevard Saint-Germain during a protest outside Sciences Po university in Paris
Footage from the scene showed several people tending to the young man as he lay on the pavement.
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he → catch → pavement
His left hand appeared to be missing, with a bloody stump in its place.
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hand → appear → place
Several people were heard screaming in the video.
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people → hear → video
He was later seen slowly walking away from the scene.
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He → see → scene
Other reports said he may have lost his arm up to his elbow, but this has not been confirmed.
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this → say → elbow
His family said Wednesday they had started legal action to demand an 'impartial' investigation.
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they → say → investigation
One of the family's lawyers, Bertrand Wattez, said the boy, Evan, denied the police account, relayed by prosecutors, that he had tried to pick up the grenade when it went off on October 5.
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it → say → October
He also denied taking part in the student protests in his city of Lens.
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He → deny → Lens
The lawyer said that Evan not only lost his left hand as a result of the blast but also several fingers on his right hand.
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Evan → say → hand
It comes after far-Left rioters set fire to the entrance of a Paris school, leaving teachers and pupils trapped inside, during the mass student protests.
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rioters → come → protests
Footage taken outside the Vauquelin high school in Paris this morning showed violent thugs setting fire to the school's entrance.
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thugs → take → entrance
Police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officer violence against demonstrators, according to the interior ministry.
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Police → open → ministry
A protester launches a firework during clashes with police near Paris earlier this month
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protester → launch → Paris
Firefighters arrived to extinguish a fire in front of Jean-Louis Cyffle high school in Nancy, eastern France
A protester kicks a tear gas canister in Nancy
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Wednesday that 248 students had been injured during the protests, 'most often in cases of urban violence'.
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students → arrive → violence
A total of 937 police officers had also been injured, as had 149 members of teaching staff, Lecornu told a parliamentary question session.
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Lecornu → injure → session
Through smashed glass, flames were seen licking the front doors of the school.
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flames → smash → school
The flames appeared to be coming from a blockade.
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flames → appear → blockade
After several seconds, two men with fire extinguishers were seen trying in vain to douse the flames from inside the building.
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men → see → building
However, the blaze grew in size and ferocity.
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blaze → grow → size
Behind it, young thugs were seen throwing things into the blockade, fuelling the flames.
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thugs → see → flames
Local media reported that around 100 students needed to be evacuated from the school, adding that demonstrators were shooting fireworks at firefighters during the operation.
Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalised school, said it had been attacked by a 'very determined' group wearing hoods and masks who tried to break through its main entrance and then lit a fire.
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who → report → fire
Police and firefighters quickly put out the fire and the school was evacuated and classes were suspended.
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classes → put → fire
Police spray CS gas as they clash with students on Boulevard Saint-Germain during a protest outside Sciences Po
'It was very violent and happened very quickly,' she said, adding that the attack lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.
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attack → spray → Po
'It was terrible for students who witnessed this outburst of violence,' she said, adding that those behind the attack on her school did not study there.
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those → witness → school
French President Emmanuel Macron believes the students waging three weeks of protests that have closed many schools have 'legitimate' grievances but are also being 'exploited' by political forces, a government spokeswoman said Wednesday.
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spokeswoman → believe → forces
The leader, who is in his final six months of office, has asked the government to come up with 'concrete responses' to the unrest by high school pupils within weeks, spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told reporters.
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Bregeon → ask → reporters
She spoke following Macron's weekly meeting with his cabinet, a day after nationwide solidarity demonstrations showed significant support for the students.
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demonstrations → speak → students
The interior ministry said 161,500 people turned out for Tuesday's demonstrations held in Paris and other cities.
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people → say → Paris
Unions organising the rallies put the figure at 480,000.
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Unions → organise → 480,000
Some violent scenes erupted on the sidelines of marches in Paris and Lyon, with police firing tear gas in response.
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police → erupt → response
In his cabinet meeting, Macron 'stressed that young people have legitimate concerns, but said these are being exploited for political purposes and turned into urban violence', Bregeon said.
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Bregeon → stress → violence
With French presidential elections due in April and May next year, some opposition parties have seized upon the demonstrations.
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parties → seize → demonstrations