Saint-Étienne: A witness tells the aid to the minor seriously injured in the hand, the IGPN seized

Shortly before 4 p.m., Saturday, October 17, 2026, Renzo took part in the Saint-Étienne demonstration when he came to help a teenager whose hand had just been shredded by an explosion near Centre Two. This testimony gathered by Progress sheds light on first aid. The 17-year-old was transported to Saint-Étienne's UHC. An investigation by the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) must establish the origin and causes of his injuries. [S1] [S3] [S4]

A witness to the injured youth

Renzo's account places the intervention in an area where the demonstration had degenerated into clashes with the security forces. The accessible part of his testimony confirms that he helped the young man, but does not detail the gestures made or what he would have observed before the explosion. It therefore does not allow the circumstances of throwing or handling the equipment to be re-established. [S1]

Medical personnel present in the demonstration also took care of the adolescent. According to their statements reported by 20 Minutes and TF1info, his right hand was severely damaged and he explained to them that he had picked up a grenade before it exploded. Actu17 also describes a care in the procession, followed by a transport to the CHU. These accounts complement that of the witness without specifying their exact articulation. [S2] [S4] [S39]

A corrected age, a reported origin

Early information included an error in age. 20 Minutes reports a prefectural statement referring to a "young adult" about 20 years old. BFMTV states that the prefecture then specified that it was a 17-year-old. The prosecutor of Saint-Étienne, Anne Gaches, gave the age of 17 and 11 months, also taken up by Actu17 in the statements of the prosecution. This is a correction of the first announcements, not of a second injured. [S2] [S3] [S39]

On the origin of the injury, 20 Minutes cites a source close to the file questioned by the AFP, according to which a grenade launched by the security forces exploded after being picked up. TF1-LCI states that it has confirmed the information concerning the injury caused by a police grenade. Several publications, however, contain the same elements of the AFP: their convergence does not constitute as many independent confirmations. [S2] [S3] [S4]

The grenade model is not identified in these accounts. CNews states that the prefecture confirms the serious injury, but not the circumstances reported. Gathering remains an element attributed to a source close to the file and to those who rescued the young man, not a judicial finding. None of these elements can establish why he would have seized the device. [S2] [S4] [S6]

Violence to be distinguished from individual responsibilities

The mobilization against expensive living was marked by clashes, broken shopfronts and destroyed urban furniture, according to the findings of the AFP reported by BFMTV. Actu17 describes, in front of a shopping mall, a face-to-face incident in which police officers were targeted by projectiles and used tear gas. This information describes the local context; they do not establish involvement of the injured youth in violence or degradation. [S3] [S39]

The mayor of Saint-Étienne, Régis Juanico, expressed his support for the young man while condemning the violence in the city. These two positions concern facts that must be distinguished: the injury of a person and acts committed during the mobilization. The information available does not allow the young person to be blamed or to decide on the responsibility for the grenade launch. [S3] [S4]

The investigation must establish the precise sequence

The Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation "in search of the causes of injuries", entrusted to the IGPN. In the statements reported in the evening, the prosecutor indicated that she had no news of the minor's condition. The sources do not provide an up-to-date hospital report or expert conclusions on the precise mechanism of the injury. [S3] [S4] [S39]

The challenge now is to distinguish the actions of each: identify the device, determine the conditions of its use and reconstitute the sequence before the explosion. The context of confrontation alone is not sufficient to establish the necessity or proportionality of this particular launch. Conversely, the available accounts do not show a definite individual fault. The IGPN referral opens investigations; It does not yet settle responsibilities. [S4] [S6] [S39]