Paris – The French interior ministry has declined to comment on two contentious police practices that have surfaced amid the country's largest wave of protests in recent years: the use of "suspended grenades" during crowd control and the systematic sorting of protest signs confiscated from demonstrators.
Background to the protests
Since late 2023, France has witnessed massive street actions against President Emmanuel Macron's pension‑reform agenda, with unions and citizen groups mobilising weekly in cities from Paris to Marseille. The unrest has prompted the police to adopt a range of crowd‑management tools, some of which have drawn scrutiny from human‑rights organisations. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has repeatedly defended the force's methods, but the ministry has offered no official clarification on the specific allegations raised by journalists.
Questions about police tactics
According to the investigative website Mediapart, reporters have sought information from the ministry regarding the deployment of "grenades suspendues" – a term used to describe explosive devices that are detonated from a distance while remaining attached to a fixed point, allowing officers to fire from cover. The outlet says the ministry's silence persists despite multiple requests for details on when, where and how the devices were used, as well as the criteria governing their activation.
Mediapart also highlights a separate line of inquiry concerning the handling of protest signs collected by police during raids and street sweeps. The newspaper reports that officers have been cataloguing, photographing and, in some cases, destroying the placards, a practice that activists claim infringes on freedom of expression and could be used to track participants. Again, the interior ministry has not issued a statement, leaving the allegations unverified.
"The ministry has remained mute on the issue, refusing to provide any data or justification for the use of suspended grenades or the processing of seized protest material," Mediapart wrote.
Human‑rights groups, including the French League of Human Rights (LDH), have called for an independent audit of the police's crowd‑control equipment and a transparent accounting of seized materials. They argue that without official disclosure, public trust in law‑enforcement agencies will continue to erode, especially as protest fatigue grows.
Opposition politicians have echoed these concerns. In the National Assembly, left‑wing deputies have filed a series of questions directed at the interior ministry, seeking clarification on the legal framework governing the use of explosive devices and the chain of custody for confiscated items. The ministry's refusal to respond, as reported by Mediapart, has prompted criticism from the European Commission, which has urged France to uphold democratic standards during public order operations.
While the interior ministry has not broken its silence, the issue is likely to resurface as France prepares for upcoming local elections, where security policies are expected to be a pivotal campaign theme. Analysts warn that continued opacity could amplify tensions between police forces and civil society, potentially leading to further escalations in future demonstrations.
Until the ministry provides a substantive answer, the debate over "suspended grenades" and the treatment of protest signs will remain a flashpoint in the broader discussion about policing, civil liberties and the state's response to dissent in France.
