A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday after picking up a police grenade during ongoing student protests over poor conditions in schools across France.
The teenager was injured in the northern town of Lens.
A police union source said he appeared to have picked up a sting-ball grenade fired by riot police before it exploded in his hand.
The protests, which began in September, have disrupted lessons at hundreds of schools as students demand more teachers, better classroom facilities and improved school buildings.
More than 400 of France’s 3,700 high schools were partially or completely closed on Monday, according to the Education Ministry.
In Paris, Bordeaux and other cities, some students returned to class while others continued demonstrations outside their schools.
The protests have also led to clashes with police and acts of vandalism. In Lille, masked protesters destroyed bus shelters and set fire to dustbins, while police used tear gas.
The movement began on September 17 at a high school in the Paris suburb of Créteil, initially in support of teachers protesting staff and resource shortages.
According to the education minister, 24 schools have been burned or ransacked since the protests began, while more than 5,000 people, 85 per cent of them minors, have been arrested.
The French Human Rights League has accused security forces of using disproportionate force against protesters, many of whom are minors.
The government has announced plans to address teacher shortages and improve school facilities.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is also pushing legislation that would make families responsible for the cost of damage caused by their children, a proposal criticised by the CGT labour union as targeting vulnerable families.
