'We are effectively maiming young people' - expert questions France's response to student protests
A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade amid nationwide school protests demanding better funding and classroom conditions. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Ariane Bogain, Senior Lecturer in French Politics at Northumbria University, says that "there is a definite issue with violence and we need to ask why there is this unidimensional reaction which is aggressive, which is riot police, which is repressive".
A 15-year-old lost a hand on Monday picking up a police grenade amid nationwide school protests demanding better funding and classroom conditions. Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Ariane Bogain, Senior Lecturer in French Politics at Northumbria University, says that "there is a definite issue with violence and we need to ask why there is this unidimensional reaction which is aggressive, which is riot police, which is repressive".
About this article
- Length
- 68 words · 1 min read
- Published
- October 5, 2026
- Byline
- FRANCE24
- Source
- France 24 French