Student, 15, has hand blown off by police stun grenade during French mass protests

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

A 15-year-old student has had their hand blown off after picking up a stun grenade being used by police as mass school protests continue across France, local authorities said.

An investigation into the incident has been opened, local prefect Francois-Xavier Lauch told reporters, according to French paper La Voix du Nord.

The incident comes as nearly 500 schools are expected to be completely or partially closed following student protests across the country over dilapidated schools and classrooms, overcrowding and teacher shortages preceding a nationwide day of demonstrations on Tuesday.

The protests began in late September at a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages before spreading nationwide.

“Our priority is to restore order,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told CNews television on Monday.

Education minister Edouard Geffray Geffray said that 24 schools had been burned or ransacked and that 78 teaching staff had been injured since the beginning of the demonstrations.

Some of the most violent footage emerging from the demonstrations shows police officers being attacked and fires breaking out.

Police and students clashed in Lille in northern France, with tear gas being used in Toulouse in the southwest.

Since last Monday, around 5,000 people, mostly teenagers have been arrested across the country and dozens have been injured. Damage to property is estimated to be tens of millions of euros.

Student unions have called for a national day of demonstrations to take place on Tuesday as security officials fear that the demonstrations could spark further violence.

CGT union leader Sophie Binet told TF1 television that members will attend to “protect high school students”.

“We've been appalled by what we have seen over the past 10 days and by the unprecedented crackdown that the government has organised against the protests by high school students,” she said.