Fourteen-year-old Eden suffered a broken jaw and multiple smashed teeth when he was struck by a tear gas canister directed towards him at close range by a police officer last week during student protests in France, his parents and family lawyer said. Read moreFrench students vow to keep up protests as UN voices 'concern' over violence The teenager had been sitting on a wall looking at his phone metres away from the protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumone, the lawyer said. An officer approached him and struck him with a baton,prompting Eden to respond with a kick, according to the local prosecutor.
A second officer then fired a tear gas grenade with a Cougar launcher, hitting him in the face. "(The officer) shot him in the mouth and left him lying on the ground, without even calling the emergency services," said lawyer Elsa Marcel. The family, who asked for Eden's second name to be withheld to protect their privacy, has filed a complaint for attempted murder, she said.
A police spokesperson said they do not comment on ongoing investigations. According to the prosecutor’s office, the police officer said that he was seeking to protect himself and his colleagues after the student confronted police. The officer was placed under formal investigation on charges of assault by a public official resulting in permanent disability or disfigurement on Tuesday, eight days after the incident.
The case is one of 24 under investigation by the IGPN internal police watchdog linked to the policing of a more than two-week-long wave of student unrest over conditions in schools. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described the demonstrations as the most violent in decades. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. The police response has renewed calls for the withdrawal of the use of rubber bullets and grenade launchers, which are not used by police in many other European countries and have been repeatedly criticised in recent years by rights groups,including Amnesty International and UNhuman rights experts, as dangerous and disproportionate.
It has also sparked anger among the public and fanned support for a protest movement that is the latest manifestation of deep-seated discontent with President Emmanuel Macron’s government ahead of a 2027 election. Read moreFrench student protests fuel political clash ahead of 2027 presidential vote Via interviews and reviews of legal documents, has documented 28 cases of injuries suffered due to police force, of which 15 are among those under investigation by the IGPN. They involve the use of rubber bullets, stun grenades, tear gas,batons and charges on horseback.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
