Lawyers representing protesters wounded during recent demonstrations across France have filed a collective legal complaint against Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, accusing him of authorising police weapons that caused severe and permanent injuries. The move, announced at a press conference in Paris on Friday, marks an escalation in the ongoing debate over police tactics during a wave of unrest that began with high school student blockades.
Speaking to reporters, lawyer Arié Alimi said the legal action would target the minister's alleged responsibility for the use of weapons that have left demonstrators mutilated. "We now believe it is imperative to target the person responsible for these mutilations and massive damage, namely Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez," Alimi said.
The complaint is being lodged with the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the only French court with jurisdiction over alleged offences committed by sitting government ministers in the exercise of their duties. The lawyers argue that Nuñez gave orders to use weapons—such as blast-ball launchers and explosive grenades—that he knew could cause permanent injuries and were unsuitable for maintaining public order.
"We are collectively bringing a case before the CJR against Mr Laurent Nuñez for the orders he gave to use weapons which he knows to be mutilating," Alimi added, noting that such weapons are not used for crowd control in other European countries. Around ten of the lawyers' clients have already agreed to join the complaint, while the legal team represents at least 18 people injured during demonstrations in recent weeks.
Serious injuries among young protesters
The legal action follows weeks of unrest that saw high school students blockading schools and larger demonstrations, with police crowd-control tactics increasingly under scrutiny. According to an AFP count, at least 20 people—many of them teenagers—have suffered serious injuries since mid-September after being hit by police blast-ball launchers or grenades.
Among the most serious cases is that of a 17-year-old boy injured during a demonstration in Saint-Étienne on 17 October. His hand was severely damaged by a police grenade, leaving him with devastating injuries. His lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, has separately pursued legal action over the incident, including a complaint targeting the police officer involved and another concerning the minister's alleged responsibility.
A Le Monde investigation published on 5 November documented the extent of the injuries, reporting that three people had lost a hand and four had suffered serious eye injuries. The findings have raised further questions about the proportionality of police weapons used against demonstrators, a concern echoed by human rights organisations that have long criticised the use of such devices.
From student protests to broader discontent
The demonstrations initially began as a movement led by high school students demanding better learning conditions. However, they have since expanded into a broader wave of public discontent, drawing in workers and other citizens frustrated by rising living costs and what they describe as excessive use of police force. The unrest has also been linked to wage strikes and cost-of-living protests that have swept across France in recent weeks.
Police have faced accusations of using disproportionate force, particularly during the larger protests held on 17 and 18 October. The Interior Ministry has opened 105 internal investigations into allegations of brutality as of 30 October, according to a source close to the case cited by AFP. Of these, 52 were linked to the high school student movement, 48 concerned violence during the mass demonstrations on 17 and 18 October, and five related to incidents on 24 October.
The lawyers' complaint centres on the use of so-called blast-ball launchers and explosive grenades, weapons that have repeatedly been criticised by human rights organisations over the risk of serious and permanent injuries. They argue that the government cannot avoid responsibility when police officers use weapons under orders and operational guidelines established by the Interior Ministry.
The unrest comes at a politically sensitive time for France, less than six months before elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron. Far-right parties are leading several opinion polls, adding to pressure on the government as it struggles to contain growing public dissatisfaction. The legal action against Nuñez is likely to intensify the debate over police accountability and the use of force in public order operations.
