French police order another 1.7 thousand “flashballs” to disperse protesters

The French Ministry of the Interior has announced a tender for the purchase of a new batch of “flashballs”. We are talking about large-caliber traumatic pistols that fire rubber bullets.

According to local media reports, the Ministry of Internal Affairs intends to order more than 1.7 thousand units of these traumatic weapons, which are used mainly to disperse demonstrators, Interfax reports.

Recently, against the backdrop of the “yellow vest” protests, the use of “flashballs” has become increasingly criticized because they cause serious injuries, the report notes.

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Earlier in December, a French lawyer representing the interests of several people injured during the “yellow vest” protests as a result of the use of “flashballs” by the police filed a petition with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) demanding a temporary ban on the use of such weapons to disperse protesters. The applicant considered that the use of these pistols violated Article 3 (prohibition of torture) and Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the ECHR rejected this request on December 18.

The international organization Reporters Without Borders has expressed concern about the use of "flashballs" by French police during the "yellow vest" protests on December 8, as rubber bullets hit journalists and photographers covering the events. Some of them lost consciousness, received numerous broken arms, after which they were sent to hospitals.

Flashballs fire large rubber bullets that do not penetrate deep into the body, but at the same time have sufficient stopping power. During the “yellow vest” protests, photographs regularly appeared on the Internet of people who had received very serious injuries from “flashballs.” However, many of them claimed that they did not do anything wrong, but the police still opened fire on them.

Let us remind you that on November 17, mass protests by motorists began in France against increases in prices and taxes on gasoline. Drivers' reflective yellow vests became a symbol of the protesters. Subsequently, the motorists were joined by the French, dissatisfied with the policies of the authorities in general, and radical activists.

In Paris, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse and other cities, demonstrations were accompanied by clashes with the police. During the protests, 10 people were killed, more than 130 were injured, and over 1,700 were detained.

As a result, the French authorities made concessions to the “yellow vests” by refusing to increase the fuel tax. Also, the country's President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address to the nation on December 10, announced an economic emergency in France and called for an end to the unrest, outlining a number of measures to improve the socio-economic situation of the population.

In particular, he stated that from 2019 in France the monthly minimum wage will be increased by 100 euros, measures will be taken to improve provision for pensioners, and overtime work will be paid without levying taxes.