Police crackdown on student protests sparks outrage and severe injuries across France

Student and union protests on October 6 mobilised participants across the country, with slogans condemning police conduct taking a prominent role alongside educational demands. Social media circulated graphic videos of forceful police interventions and teenagers sustaining injuries, which bolstered the determination of existing blockades and drew in additional youths and outraged adults. Between late September and early October, security forces reported thousands of detentions, the vast majority of which involved minors, according to the chancellery.

On a single day in early October, the Ministry of the Interior announced a record number of arrests, exceeding the highest daily figure recorded during the 2018 yellow-vest movement. The crackdown resulted in serious injuries: a 15-year-old in Lens had his hand torn off by a flash-bang grenade that had been temporarily suspended, a 16-year-old lost the use of an eye from a defensive projectile, and a 14-year-old in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône suffered a double-fractured jaw from a close-range grenade shot. By early October, the police’s general inspection had launched numerous inquiries into the conduct of officers involved.