A TEENAGE boy has lost his fingers after they were blown off by a grenade as violent riots over school conditions continue to sweep across France.
More than a quarter of a million people took to the streets on Tuesday with nearly 1,000 injured and over 6,000 people arrested so far.
Protesters have torched classrooms and pelted police with rocks and bottles in clashes across Paris, Marseille and Strasbourg.
Police have responded by firing tear gas and launching stun grenades.
Earlier this morning a 16-year-old boy suffered a self-inflicted injury while protesting outside Couffignal high school in Strasbourg.
The teenager had two fingers torn off “with his own mortar fire” according to police.
He was rushed to hospital in a state of “absolute emergency” – the latest casualty of a spiralling protest movement.
Since the start of the crisis more than half of the nation’s schools have been shut down and dozens of teachers targeted.
Education minister Édouard Geffray said that 24 schools were so badly burned they will not be able to reopen for several weeks.
He added that 88 teachers have been injured in the horrifying wave of protests with many of them being “deliberately targeted”.
Dozens of police officers and pupils have also been wounded.
Earlier this week a teenage boy had his hand blown off by a stun grenade fired by police in Lens, northern France.
The 15-year-old pupil’s hand had to be amputated following the horror injury on Monday.
His devastated mum told BFMTV: “His future is ruined.”
She added: “What happened to my son is horrible, we’re still in shock.”
“A lot of lies are circulating; my son didn’t pick up the grenade from the ground.
“He was hit with a weapon of war; it’s not normal to use that against young people.”
Desperate to curb the violence between pupils and police, the French government today suspended the use of stun grenades.
One senior minister said that “the police response was too harsh and lacking empathy”.
He added that the officer who fired the grenade has been suspended.
A further 18 cops are under investigation for using excessive violence against rioters.
One video shows a teenager’s jaw being broken and his upper teeth smashed out with a police baton.
But in other clips, hooded teens can be seen chasing down a policewoman and kicking her to the ground or firing flares at officers over barricades.
The violent clashes have seen at least 930 people wounded including 715 police officers.
It comes after a total of 6,100 people have been arrested – of which 1,483 are minors.
