Laurent Nuñez, the interior minister, said he had ordered the temporary suspension of grenade use in the context of the secondary school student movement. Available sources do not specify either the duration or the exact operational scope of the measure.
The incident that preceded the decision took place on October 5 in Lens, during a protest or confrontation involving riot police: a 15-year-old boy lost a hand. The available information confirms the injury and the context, but does not conclusively establish how it occurred.
According to Nuñez, there is a «strong possibility» that the injury was caused by a police stun grenade. However, the minister linked the suspension to the need to clarify what happened: the precise reconstruction of the incident remains under investigation.
The suspension comes after about two weeks of student protests and clashes, amid accusations of disproportionate use of force and police brutality. The sources agree that these accusations exist, without the available material allowing them to be considered substantiated on the merits.
The demonstrations continued to affect several parts of France. According to the South China Morning Post, more than 500 schools were closed and additional marches had been scheduled for Thursday; the figure was reported by only one of the available sources.
The political crisis was accompanied by anticipation of a public address by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle and France 24 reported that the prime minister was expected to address the nation, without providing the content or outcome of the speech in the materials reviewed.
France 24 also reported that President Emmanuel Macron was expected to hold an emergency meeting with Lecornu and other ministers on October 6 or 7 to address the crisis. This detail also comes from a single source, and no further information is available about the decisions made during the meeting.