Ֆրանսիացի նախարարն ասում է, որ սպաները «համապատասխան չեն կանոնակարգերին» այն բանից հետո, երբ բացահայտվել են 2023 թվականի բողոքի կադրերը

Body camera footage revealed by Mediapart and Libération on Wednesday, November 5, shed raw light on French law enforcement's actions during a protest that turned violent in western France over two years ago. At the protest by environmental activists on March 25, 2023, some gendarmes tasked with protecting the giant water reservoirs, or "megabasins," in Sainte-Soline, appeared to forget that their actions and words were being recorded by their own cameras.

The videos have been included in the judicial investigation led by the Rennes prosecutor's office. The footage exposes numerous failings by the gendarmes during this day of exceptionally violent crowd control, including illegal orders, dangerous firing of non-lethal ammunition, and insults. "In your face, son of a whore! (...) Shit, it's recording," one gendarme is heard saying. Approximately 200 demonstrators and 45 gendarmes were injured on the day.

Read more Subscribers only Given the high level of violence at French 'megabasin' protest, it's time for questions

The footage reveals numerous instances of direct shots of tear gas grenades. Instead of aiming them toward the sky at a 45-degree angle to reduce the risk of injury, the gendarmes fired them horizontally. The commanding officers themselves gave the order for these extremely dangerous shots in nine of the 15 deployed squadrons, Mediapart and Libération counted.

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