France bans stun grenades for police after student loses hand. Lesson for India?

• France suspends stun grenades after a 15-year-old loses his hand during protests.

• The violence has rekindled memories of injuries suffered by students during NEET protests in India.

• Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire calls for dialogue and de-escalation amid concerns over police force.

France has suspended the use of stun grenades during student protests after a 15-year-old boy lost his hand in a stun grenade explosion during a demonstration in Lens, amid growing scrutiny of police tactics and concerns over the use of force against young protesters.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he had ordered the suspension until the circumstances surrounding Monday's incident were clarified. Authorities have said the teenager picked up a grenade that then exploded, while students have alleged that he was hit directly after an officer fired it. An investigation by the police watchdog, IGPN, is under way.

The incident has rekindled memories in India of injuries suffered by students during protests over the NEET examination controversy earlier this year.

During a 20 July protest in Delhi, several protesters were treated for pellet injuries after the Rapid Action Force used non-lethal munitions during a crackdown.

An official police record acknowledged that two rounds of plastic pellets were fired, while later reports said at least three protesters were treated for pellet-gun injuries. The Delhi Police disputed allegations that pellets had been used against peaceful protesters.

One 19-year-old student who took part in the NEET protest suffered serious eye injuries, with his family alleging that he had been hit by pellets and could lose his eyesight. A hospital report separately documented pellet wounds in another injured protester.

The comparison also recalls the protests in Bihar, where a police constable was filmed firing an AK-47 during clashes with student protesters in Siwan. The constable was suspended and a departmental inquiry was ordered.

Police said he fired four rounds into the air after being surrounded by protesters and maintained that no one was injured, while three youths were treated for gunshot injuries following the violence.

Meanwhile, the French protests have spread across hundreds of schools, with students demanding better school conditions and greater funding. More than 250,000 people took part in demonstrations on Tuesday, according to government figures, while police deployed tear gas and water cannon in some cities. The interior ministry said 488 people were arrested and 43 security personnel were injured.

The Lens incident is not the only serious injury to a student. A 14-year-old boy in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône suffered a fractured jaw and lost several teeth after being hit in the face by a tear-gas grenade, while a 16-year-old in Strasbourg suffered a serious hand injury in a separate incident involving a mortar firework.

Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire called for the circumstances surrounding the Lens incident to be fully investigated and said no young person should risk being injured while taking part in a mobilisation. He urged dialogue and de-escalation rather than an escalation of tensions.

Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis, also called for de-escalation and urged the government to respond politically rather than through policing. He said there should be no injured high school students and called on authorities to send reassuring messages to prevent further escalation.

The French government has defended the police response, saying investigations will determine whether force used in individual incidents was proportionate. Nuñez said police action must be proportionate while acknowledging the seriousness of the Lens injury.