Politics · France · 13 hrs ago
French lawyers plan complaint against interior minister over protest injuries
Lawyers representing people injured in French protests plan to complain to a special court about Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
They accuse him of ordering police to use grenades and rubber-ball launchers despite knowing the weapons can cause severe injuries.
The protests began with high school students demanding better learning conditions and spread as other groups joined demonstrations over police force and the rising cost of living.
At least 20 people have been seriously injured by police weapons during protests since mid-September, according to an AFP count.
As of October 30, police had opened 105 internal investigations into allegations of brutality.
The lawyers are still seeking clients’ consent and expect to finalize the complaint within two to three weeks before submitting it to the Court of Justice of the Republic, which handles cases against serving government members.
Lawyers representing people injured in recent French protests plan to file a complaint against Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
They accuse him of ordering the use of weapons they say can cause mutilations.
The complaint is to be brought before the Court of Justice of the Republic, which can hear cases against sitting government members.
The lawyers say police weapons have seriously injured protesters, including teenagers, during protests since mid-September.
They have yet to collect consent from all clients, and Arié Alimi said the complaint could take 15 days to three weeks to finalise.
- Who
- Lawyers representing people injured in protests, including attorney Arié Alimi, plan to bring the complaint against Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
- What
- They plan to accuse him over orders concerning the use of police weapons during crowd control.
- When
- The plan was announced on November 6, 2026.
- Where
- The complaint will be brought before France’s Court of Justice of the Republic. The announcement was made at a press conference in Paris.
- Why
- The lawyers allege that weapons used by police caused serious injuries and that Nuñez knew the risks.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Police blast ball launchers or grenades seriously injured at least 20 people during protests, according to an AFP count.
Mass protests took place, with 48 of the internal police investigations later linked to violence during those days.
Five internal investigations were linked to incidents that day.
A source close to the case said police had opened 105 internal investigations into allegations of brutality.
Lawyers announced plans to bring a complaint against Nuñez before the Court of Justice of the Republic.
- Proposed defendant
- Laurent Nuñez, France’s interior minister
- Court
- Court of Justice of the Republic
- Injured people represented
- At least 18, according to Le Monde
- Client consent
- Around 10 clients had consented to sign the collective complaint, according to Le Monde
- Police investigations
- 105 opened by October 30
- Complaint preparation
- 15 days to three weeks, according to Arié Alimi
3 sources
Lawyers to sue France’s interior minister over protester ‘mutilations’
French lawyers to sue interior minister over protester 'mutilations'
Plusieurs avocats comptent saisir la Cour de justice de la République contre le ministre de l'Intérieur Laurent Nuñez, après les blessures infligées à des manifestants
What people are saying
We now believe it is imperative to target the person responsible for these mutilations and massive damage, namely Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez
The minister knows what damage will be caused by using these mutilating weapons
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 − which he knows to be weapons of war, which he knows must not be used for crowd control, and which he knows are used by no other country in Europe