The prolonged use of tear gas and grenades to disperse at night hundreds of participants in the illegal free party in Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine) in June, one of whom had his hand torn off, is
"emblematic of the excesses of the maintenance. order in France ”
, according to an Amnesty International report on Tuesday 14 September.
The force was
"neither necessary nor proportionate"
and the conditions of intervention contrary to the
"basic principles of the United Nations"
, denounces this report entitled "Redon: Freeparty of repression", carried out on the basis of interviews, articles and videos.
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Violent clashes broke out on the night of June 18 to 19 between the police and participants in an undeclared free party, organized in tribute to Steve Maia Caniço, who drowned in Nantes in 2019 following a controversial police operation. Several dozen wounded were recorded among the participants, according to Amnesty, and 11 among the gendarmes. According to the prefect of Ille-et-Vilaine, the latter had
"wiped jets of Molotov cocktails, pétanque balls, etc. all night long
.
"
"No violence was observed on the part of participants before the violent intervention of the police,"
said Amnesty for its part.
Unnecessary use of force can amount to corporal punishment, which is illegal under international human rights law.
"
Amnesty International
The NGO criticizes the use of force
“as a first resort”
, the absence of mediation and
“not very audible”
summons
.
“In Redon, the police threw tear gas and stun grenades for more than seven hours at a crowd at night, including grenades likely to mutilate people. The use of these weapons in such dangerous conditions has led to dozens of injuries: wounds, fractures, burns, but also panic attacks and respiratory distress, ”
notes Amnesty.
"The duration of the intervention reveals how ineffective the approach was
,
"
considers the NGO, which also denounces a total absence of a rescue plan for the injured.
Music Festival: "Certain scenes of repression illustrate a disturbing liberticidal drift"
"Unnecessary use of force can amount to corporal punishment, which is illegal under international human rights law,"
Amnesty added.
According to her,
"the case of Redon is placed in a context of repetition of cases of excessive use of force in law enforcement operations"
.
She warns the government
"on the urgent need to ban explosive grenades in law enforcement"
and
"to review intervention strategies so that they are based on dialogue and de-escalation approaches"
.
It also calls for the creation of
"an independent body responsible for investigating complaints lodged against law enforcement officials"
. Tuesday Emmanuel Macron must precisely announce in Roubaix an
"independent control"
of "the action of the police", according to the Elysee. Following the events of Redon, justice had opened two investigations for
"involuntary injuries"
and for
"unlawful organization of a festive gathering of a musical nature"
.