France suspends stun grenade use on student protesters after teenager loses handWorld

The wave of protests has been under way for more than two weeks and has exposed widespread public anger six months before elections to choose President Emmanuel Macron’s successor.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu addressed the nation on Wednesday evening, saying the government would review the students’ demands and present proposals at the end of October, ranging from renovating school buildings to making more teachers available. “In the past, too many promises were not kept, quite simply because they were untenable,” he said. “What I want are concrete, quick and fully funded answers.”

Student leaders criticised the lack of an immediate response after talks at the education ministry earlier on Wednesday. At Lycee Lamartine in central Paris, protesters sang the Marseillaise and chanted slogans as they blockaded the school entrance. Gabriel Fillieule, a former public-school student who now attends a private school, said: “We saw there were lots of crumbling walls, a shortage of teachers in public schools, absent teachers.” He and others said they were protesting to demand better learning conditions for all.

While most of Wednesday’s blockades were peaceful, police used tear gas and pushed back protesters in a street barricaded with rubbish bins outside Sciences Po university in central Paris. Rights groups, labour unions, students and some opposition politicians have accused the police of using disproportionate force.

<h2>Wider unrest across Europe</h2> Similar anger has spilled beyond France. In Belgium, at least 107 people have been arrested in connection with student protests this month in the city of Liege, according to the Belga news agency, and teachers are also on strike. In Portugal, the main teachers&#8217; union FENPROF launched an indefinite strike in mid-September over working conditions, with teachers refusing any unpaid work beyond the 35 hours a week required by law. In Spain, teachers&#8217; unions have been protesting conditions in state schools, and teachers in Madrid plan a strike on October 14 to demand shorter hours, smaller classes and higher salaries.

The unrest comes as France faces mounting fiscal strain and budget paralysis, with strikes, school blockades and port stoppages adding to pressure on the government, according to reports this week.