Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told France 3 broadcaster: "It happened, a few months ago, that police were obliged to use them (the grenades) to extricate themselves from a threat, and that protesters who picked them up were seriously injured. "This is why I think we need to withdraw the GLI-F4." French rights body Defenseur des Droits says France is the only European country to use explosive munitions against protesters.
In July last year, the Council of State - France's highest court for administrative justice - rejected a bid by the Human Rights League and the CGT labour union to ban the use of the GLI-F4 as well as LBD stun grenades in public order policing. The OF-F1 grenade was banned from use in May 2017 after the death three years earlier of an environmental activist, Remi Fraisse, during a protest over a dam. It has been replaced by the GLI-F4.
French police have come in for much criticism for alleged violent behaviour since the start of the yellow vests protest movement in November 2018, and in recent clashes with striking workers rallying against pension reform More than 200 alleged abuses related to police handling of the yellow vest protests were signalled to the IGPN police watchdog.
A number of recent videos showing what appear to be unjustified police violence at demonstrations have sparked outrage on social media. One showed an officer tripping a woman, and another an officer firing a rubber bullet at point-blank range.
A few days ago, a riot police officer was caught on camera punching a bloodied protester, held down on his back, at a demonstration in Paris, prompting an investigation by the police oversight body.