France bans stun grenades after teenage protester loses hand

French police have halted the use of stun grenades during student protests after a teenage boy’s hand was blown off. 

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the ban was being introduced while officials investigated how the 15-year-old boy was seriously injured on Monday during a rally in the north-eastern city of Lens.

The high school student had to have his left hand amputated, reports radio network RTL.

Nunez said the ban would be lifted once the investigation into who was responsible for the incident has concluded.

“I am suspending their use for the high school student movement until the truth has been uncovered about what happened in this case,” he said.

Police say the teenager picked up the stun grenade during the protest outside a high school.

But a witness told the France 3 media outlet the device landed directly in the student’s hand at the time of the incident. 

Stun grenades are used in riot control by French police and other European law enforcement agencies.

Many produce an intense sound designed to temporarily deafen or disorientate a person’s senses while also releasing tear gas.

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The tragedy involving the 15-year-old came as mass demonstrations calling for better school funding were held across cities in France.

More than 700 police and at least 215 students have been injured.

Students have drawn attention to rundown classrooms that lack basics such as desks and chairs, become sweltering in summer without air conditioning and, in some cases, are infested with rats.

French President Emmanuel Macron this week convened an emergency meeting with his ministers to try and quell the demonstrations taking place just seven months from an election.