French Senate rapporteurs are due to present findings on protest policing Oct. 21 as demonstrations across France sharpen questions about officers’ use of force and who pays for damage.
The rapporteurs are also scheduled to give their position on a proposed damages bill. Their review is separate from an inquiry opened after violence on Oct. 17 and 18.
In an analysis accompanied by a graphic spanning Sept. 4 to Oct. 16, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) classified 24.2% of events in the current protest cycle as riots. The median for earlier cycles was 1.9%. ACLED said only the unrest following Nahel Merzouk’s death in 2023 had a higher proportion of riots.
ACLED counted more than 400 events involving arrests, a measure of incidents rather than the number of people detained. The previous high was 138 such events during the 2023 pension protests. The group said many demonstrations in smaller towns remained peaceful, while violence was concentrated in major cities.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu directed prefects to impose local curfews following protest violence. During an Oct. 14 Senate sitting, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said officers had followed strict instructions and used proportionate force. He said local authorities, particularly regions, bore repair costs.
Amnesty International said Nunez announced a temporary suspension of stun-grenade use at high school student protests Oct. 7, pending an investigation into a serious injury suffered by a 15-year-old in Lens. Amnesty called for a permanent ban on the weapons at all demonstrations.
Concerns about French crowd control predate this protest wave. The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner raised concerns about injuries during the Yellow Vest movement in 2019 and urged accountability for police violence. An Oct. 20 Guardian analysis argued that France’s centralized state and limited formal bargaining between unions and government have contributed to recurring confrontations in the streets.
France’s lower house, the National Assembly, passed a separate policing bill in July. It would create a presumption, open to challenge, that police and gendarmes who use firearms while on duty met legal requirements for necessity and proportionality. It awaits Senate consideration.
The proposed damages bill would make qualifying participants in violent gatherings jointly liable, with a limit of €10,000 per person. It covers those knowingly joining a group formed to prepare violence or property damage and present when a member offends, or voluntarily remaining after dispersal warnings while aware members are offending. The Senate is scheduled to debate it Oct. 27 and 28.
