French police have revived controversial tactics and weapons used against demonstrators during the Gilets Jaunes movement as they seek to tame a wave of anti-government protests.
Tens of thousands of officers have been deployed last month amid a wave of public anger triggered by President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age and in response to an unrelated protest held by environmental activists in western France.
Lawyers and human rights groups have criticised the methods used by law enforcement, such as preventive arrests to deter protesters and collect intelligence on activists and forceful crowd control methods. An official from the UN urged French police to avoid excessive force, and the EU’s human rights watchdog questioned the proportionality of the crackdown.