French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu defended the police response to student protests after one teenager lost a hand in an incident involving a police grenade and another lost sight in one eye after being struck by a projectile.
In parliament on Tuesday, Lecornu pushed back on accusations of police brutality or state repression, adding that the term "police brutality" implies that officers had been instructed to use force, according to Politico.
"What triggers police action is the occurrence of urban violence," Lecornu said.
"Can accidents happen? The answer is yes," he added.
Lecornu and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez have both argued that the police response was sparked by urban violence, arson and vandalism, while maintaining that officers have acted within their authority. Nuñez also called the police response proportionate in "almost all cases."
The prime minister also accused opposition party France Unbowed of exploiting the student protests to sow chaos and score political points ahead of next year’s presidential election.
On Monday, a 15-year-old boy in northern France lost a hand after a police grenade exploded during the protests, Politico reported. A prosecutor said he could not "say for certain whether the student picked up the grenade or whether it was thrown at him."
In the city of Tours, a 16-year-old lost sight in one eye after being hit by a projectile, according to the outlet. The prosecutor said the projectile may have been fired from a sub-lethal riot-control weapon used by police.
Boris Vallaud, leader of the center-left Socialist group in parliament, said the group's lawmakers would introduce legislation restricting the use of sub-lethal riot-control weapons at student demonstrations, warning that they can cause irreversible injuries, the outlet reported.