A 15-year-old is under arrest in France after a video appeared to show him turning a homemade flamethrower on a woman’s face during school protests

A 15-year-old boy is in police custody in Marseille after a video appeared to show him using a homemade flamethrower against a woman during school protests. The teenager is accused of spraying fire directly at the woman near a bus stop. According to the New York Post, the device appears to have been made from an aerosol can and a lighter. The victim of this attack sustained first-degree burns to her face. She received medical treatment at the scene.

The Marseille prosecutor’s office said the teenager has since been placed under formal investigation for an “act of barbarism” and moved to pretrial detention at a juvenile facility. These events unfolded as part of broader school protests across France, where students have been gathering to demand improvements to their school conditions. The protesters have expressed frustration regarding poor facilities, overheated classrooms, and excessive staff absences.

Education Minister Edouard Geffray commented on how the demonstrations have evolved. He said the movement was legitimate at the outset but has now been taken hostage by ultra-left groups. Across the country, school protests have escalated, with high school students lighting fires outside school buildings. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated to French television channel TF1 that more than 5,000 people have been arrested since the school protests began.

The education minister says the school protests have been hijacked

The majority of those detained are minors currently enrolled in high school. The unrest has also forced closures. The Ministry of National Education announced that at least 400 of the country’s 3,700 high schools will be closed, in whole or in part, on Monday in response to the school protests. Edouard Geffray also addressed the situation on X, stating, “For a week now, unspeakable violence has struck our schools.”

“High schools are being attacked, buildings are being vandalized, sometimes set on fire, and staff are being targeted,” Edouard Geffray wrote. He further explained his view of the shift in the demonstrations, adding, “The initial demands called for a better public education service. Those who commit these acts want to destroy it.” The video appears to show a masked figure dressed in black approaching the woman at Place du 4-Septembre before the flames are directed at her face.

Police arrested the teenager on Friday night, and the prosecutor’s office said he had no prior record with police or the courts. As the suspect is a minor, he has not been publicly named. He has not been convicted of any offense, and the allegation of an “act of barbarism” still has to be examined by investigating judges. The teenager is expected to remain in pretrial detention at the juvenile facility in Marseille while that investigation continues, and he could later face trial before a juvenile court.