French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said police are temporarily not using stun grenades at student-led protests, amid mounting accusations of excessive force by security forces after several days of nationwide demonstrations.
The announcement came on Wednesday, a day after hundreds of thousands of students and supporters marched across France to demand increased education funding and better conditions in secondary schools. The events prompted President Emmanuel Macron to convene an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu and key ministers to defuse tensions.
The prime minister's office said Lecornu would make a public statement on Wednesday about the school protests as well as the country's financial situation.
Speaking on RTL radio on Wednesday morning, Minister Nunez said police use of stun grenades at protests had been suspended.
Earlier, a 15-year-old boy in the northern city of Lens lost a hand on Monday after police fired a stun grenade. Before that, a 14-year-old student was hit in the face at close range by a tear gas grenade, losing several teeth. A police officer was charged on Tuesday in connection with an incident in the capital, Paris.
According to Minister Nunez, police have opened 18 internal investigations into allegations of misconduct since the protests began.
Human rights organizations, student groups and parents accuse the authorities of using disproportionate force against minors. The government says the protest movement has been exploited by outsiders and turned into urban violence.
The Interior Ministry said 6,100 people have been arrested since the protests began last month, most of them minors. The Justice Ministry said more than 1,800 people are being prosecuted, including 1,483 minors, but did not specify the charges.
According to Lecornu's office, at least 715 police officers and 215 teenagers were injured in the clashes.
Students demand school funding
The protests began in late September, when students blocked entrances to hundreds of secondary schools for 15- to 17-year-olds to protest deteriorating facilities, teacher shortages and demand increased education funding.
Parents, teachers and union members joined marches in Paris and other cities on Tuesday, amid accusations of excessive police force.
Sporadic violent clashes occurred between police and protesters even as the marches remained largely peaceful.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lecornu condemned the violence and told lawmakers it would not be tolerated, while rejecting accusations that the government had ordered a "police crackdown" on protesters.
