France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Thursday admitted that he was unhappy with the behaviour of police officers seen in video footage during a protest against a giant reservoir in Sainte-Soline, south-western France, in March 2023.
The 84 hours of images from cameras mounted on police body armour published by the newspaper Libération and the investigative website Mediapart show officers insulting demonstrators and boasting about the number of injuries they have inflicted.
"I always remind people of the context: this was an illegal demonstration, where there was a great deal of serious violence against the police," Nunez tod French broadcaster France Inter on Thursday.
He continued: "The comments made are unacceptable, and there are actions that are clearly not in line with regulations. Obviously, I am not at all happy with the comments I heard or the actions I saw."
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On Wednesday, following the emergence of the footage, Nunez ordered an inquiry into the policing of the demonstration which left more than 40 officers and 100 protesters injured.
"I will never allow criticism of the internal security forces," sadi Nunez. "And you know very well that this kind of incident, which I agree is serious, allows some people to criticise the police or gendarmerie in general."
Just after the protests, Gérald Darmanin, then interior minister, said police had displayed a proportionate use of force.
"He [Darmanin] was not in denial, he was absolutely right," said Nunez. "The gendarmerie's action was carried out in response to extremely violent acts, including against vehicles, against people, against our gendarmerie officers, and the response was proportionate.
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He added: "But there are acts revealed by these videos that are clearly not proportionate. But there was a level of violence that reached an unprecedented level that day, and there was a response that was overwhelmingly proportionate.
"If, in this particular case, there was indeed a use of force that was in part disproportionate, there will be an investigation to establish this, and there will obviously be sanctions."
The protest, which was banned, degenerated as police fired more than 5,000 tear gas and explosive grenades in response to a hail of stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks.
Following complaints from demonstrators, the Rennes public prosecutor's office opened an investigation.
