The Interior Minister affirms that grenades and tear gas will remain absolute priorities for maintaining public order.
Faced with recent questions about the state's ability to control protests, Laurent Nuñez, the Interior Minister, sought to clarify the current security doctrine. During a public address, he insisted that police services do not renounce any intermediate means when it comes to protecting public order and the safety of citizens.
The government official specifically cited grenades and tear gas as essential tools in the public order arsenal. According to him, these devices are not an end in themselves, but necessary instruments when situations escalate and jeopardize stability. He stressed that the use of these means is strictly governed by current operational directives.
This statement comes amid an intensifying public debate over the methods used by law enforcement during gatherings. Some stakeholders advocated for a strict restriction on the use of gas, while others argued that law enforcement should not deprive themselves of their protections. Nuñez therefore reaffirmed that operational flexibility remains in place, without losing sight of respect for fundamental rights.
For the minister, the ultimate goal remains the preservation of civil peace. He indicated that units deployed in the field are trained to assess situations in real time and choose the most proportionate response. The idea is not to provoke, but to defuse tensions that could take hold. Grenades and smoke devices serve here as levers of negotiation by force, when verbal dialogue fails.
This position should reassure the police hierarchy, which was concerned about a potential weakening of their capacity to act. By guaranteeing the availability of all intermediate means, the executive seeks to prevent officers from feeling helpless in the face of sometimes violent protests. The doctrine emphasizes anticipation and prevention, while maintaining a clear red line regarding the legitimate self-defense of law enforcement.
The government official specifically cited grenades and tear gas as essential tools in the public order arsenal. According to him, these devices are not an end in themselves, but necessary instruments when situations escalate and jeopardize stability. He stressed that the use of these means is strictly governed by current operational directives.
This statement comes amid an intensifying public debate over the methods used by law enforcement during gatherings. Some stakeholders advocated for a strict restriction on the use of gas, while others argued that law enforcement should not deprive themselves of their protections. Nuñez therefore reaffirmed that operational flexibility remains in place, without losing sight of respect for fundamental rights.
For the minister, the ultimate goal remains the preservation of civil peace. He indicated that units deployed in the field are trained to assess situations in real time and choose the most proportionate response. The idea is not to provoke, but to defuse tensions that could take hold. Grenades and smoke devices serve here as levers of negotiation by force, when verbal dialogue fails.
This position should reassure the police hierarchy, which was concerned about a potential weakening of their capacity to act. By guaranteeing the availability of all intermediate means, the executive seeks to prevent officers from feeling helpless in the face of sometimes violent protests. The doctrine emphasizes anticipation and prevention, while maintaining a clear red line regarding the legitimate self-defense of law enforcement.
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Source: La Nouvelle République