French police officer is charged after student, 16, is blinded by a rubber bullet while protesting

A French police officer has been charged after a teenager was blinded by a rubber bullet during student riots that have rocked the nation.

The officer was charged with aggravated violence on Tuesday after allegedly firing the bullet at the 16-year-old protester in Tours, France on Sept 30. 

The family of the injured pupil have blamed the police. 

France has suffered days of disorder and violence sparked by failing school conditions, with high school students joined by far-Left activists and Antifa-linked extremists in clashes with riot police across the country.

Police have been involved in ongoing battles with balaclava-clad demonstrators who have set fire to schools and attacked teachers.

Students, unions, rights groups and parents have accused the police of brutality against the students, with some of the young protesters maimed. 

Earlier this month, a student, 15, had his hand blown off after trying to throw a stun grenade back at police near the Auguste Behal high school in Lens, northern France. 

The boy, known as Evan, picked up a police stun grenade, intending to throw it back, only for the device to explode and rip his hand off.

A car catches fire on Boulevard du Montparnasse during the protest on October 13, 2026

Protestors clash with the police in front of Ecole Militaire on October 13, 2026

Protesters form a human chain as they face off with French riot police amid clashes on the Boulevard Saint-Germain during a protest outside Sciences Po university in Paris 

Footage from the scene showed several people tending to the young man as he lay on the pavement. His left hand appeared to be missing, with a bloody stump in its place.

Several people were heard screaming in the video. He was later seen slowly walking away from the scene.

Other reports said he may have lost his arm up to his elbow, but this has not been confirmed.

His family said Wednesday they had started legal action to demand an 'impartial' investigation.

One of the family's lawyers, Bertrand Wattez, said the boy, Evan, denied the police account, relayed by prosecutors, that he had tried to pick up the grenade when it went off on October 5. He also denied taking part in the student protests in his city of Lens.

The lawyer said that Evan not only lost his left hand as a result of the blast but also several fingers on his right hand.  

It comes after far-Left rioters set fire to the entrance of a Paris school, leaving teachers and pupils trapped inside, during the mass student protests.

Footage taken outside the Vauquelin high school in Paris this morning showed violent thugs setting fire to the school's entrance.

Police have opened internal investigations into 36 allegations of officer violence against demonstrators, according to the interior ministry.

A protester launches a firework during clashes with police near Paris earlier this month

Firefighters arrived to extinguish a fire in front of Jean-Louis Cyffle high school in Nancy, eastern France

A protester kicks a tear gas canister in Nancy

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Wednesday that 248 students had been injured during the protests, 'most often in cases of urban violence'.

A total of 937 police officers had also been injured, as had 149 members of teaching staff, Lecornu told a parliamentary question session.

Through smashed glass, flames were seen licking the front doors of the school. The flames appeared to be coming from a blockade.

After several seconds, two men with fire extinguishers were seen trying in vain to douse the flames from inside the building.

However, the blaze grew in size and ferocity. Behind it, young thugs were seen throwing things into the blockade, fuelling the flames.

Local media reported that around 100 students needed to be evacuated from the school, adding that demonstrators were shooting fireworks at firefighters during the operation.

Carole Zerbib, head of the vandalised school, said it had been attacked by a 'very determined' group wearing hoods and masks who tried to break through its main entrance and then lit a fire.  

Police and firefighters quickly put out the fire and the school was evacuated and classes were suspended.

Police spray CS gas as they clash with students on Boulevard Saint-Germain during a protest outside Sciences Po 

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'It was very violent and happened very quickly,' she said, adding that the attack lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.

'It was terrible for students who witnessed this outburst of violence,' she said, adding that those behind the attack on her school did not study there.

French President Emmanuel Macron believes the students waging three weeks of protests that have closed many schools have 'legitimate' grievances but are also being 'exploited' by political forces, a government spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The leader, who is in his final six months of office, has asked the government to come up with 'concrete responses' to the unrest by high school pupils within weeks, spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told reporters.

She spoke following Macron's weekly meeting with his cabinet, a day after nationwide solidarity demonstrations showed significant support for the students.

The interior ministry said 161,500 people turned out for Tuesday's demonstrations held in Paris and other cities. Unions organising the rallies put the figure at 480,000.

Some violent scenes erupted on the sidelines of marches in Paris and Lyon, with police firing tear gas in response.

In his cabinet meeting, Macron 'stressed that young people have legitimate concerns, but said these are being exploited for political purposes and turned into urban violence', Bregeon said.

With French presidential elections due in April and May next year, some opposition parties have seized upon the demonstrations.