Politics · France · 3 days ago
French police face scrutiny after teenager is badly injured at protest
A 14-year-old boy named Eden was badly injured near a high school protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, outside Paris.
He suffered a fractured jaw and severe damage to his teeth after a tear-gas grenade fired by police struck him in the face at close range.
Accounts say officers had approached and struck him with a baton, and he kicked back before the grenade was fired.
The officer who fired it is under formal investigation, and the prosecutor's office says he has been barred from police work while the case proceeds.
The incident is one of 24 cases being examined by France's internal police watchdog in connection with a wave of student protests.
The protests have focused on school conditions, and authorities say police have also been injured and schools damaged.
The case has renewed calls to stop police using rubber bullets and grenade launchers, weapons criticised by rights groups as dangerous and disproportionate.
The investigation is continuing, and the sources do not give a date for its conclusion.
A 14-year-old boy named Eden suffered a fractured jaw and severe dental injuries after a police-fired tear-gas grenade struck him in the face at close range during a student protest in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône.
The officer who fired the grenade was placed under formal investigation on charges of assault by a public official resulting in permanent disability or disfigurement.
Eden’s family filed a complaint for attempted murder, according to their lawyer.
The officer told prosecutors he was trying to protect himself and his colleagues after Eden confronted police.
The incident is among cases being examined by France’s internal police watchdog amid a wider wave of student protests.
- Who
- Eden, a 14-year-old student, was injured by an unnamed police officer.
- What
- A tear-gas grenade fired at close range struck Eden in the face, fracturing his jaw and damaging his teeth.
- When
- September 28, according to Le Monde.
- Where
- Near the entrance of Château-d'Epluches high school in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, a suburb north of Paris.
- Why
- The officer told prosecutors he was seeking to protect himself and colleagues after Eden confronted police.
Eden's family and lawyer
The police officer
Circumstances
Eden's family and lawyer
The family’s lawyer said Eden was sitting near the protest when an officer approached and struck him with a baton; Eden responded with a kick.
The police officer
The officer said he was seeking to protect himself and his colleagues after Eden confronted police.
Use of force
Eden's family and lawyer
The family filed a complaint for attempted murder after the grenade struck Eden in the face at close range.
The police officer
The officer fired a tear-gas grenade, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Le Monde says Eden was struck by a tear-gas grenade near his high school during a protest.
The local prosecutor's office announced that the officer who fired the grenade had been charged.
Le Monde published its report on Eden’s injuries and the investigation.
The Straits Times reported that the officer was under formal investigation and that the case was among those being examined by the IGPN.
- Eden's age
- 14
- Injury
- Fractured jaw and severe damage to his teeth
- Location
- Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, north of Paris
- Weapon
- Cougar tear-gas launcher
- Complaint
- Eden’s family filed a complaint for attempted murder
What people are saying
(The officer) shot him in the mouth and left him lying on the ground, without even calling the emergency services.
Our primary role is, of course, to protect high school students.
France is an anomaly in terms of its use of arms and the number of victims — we have four irreversible injuries in the space of 12 days, and they are minors.
It is a level that is unknown in (France’s) contemporary history.
Sources
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