Overview
- Claire Hédon published her decision on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, saying authorities adopted a 'logic of confrontation' that produced a heavy human toll at the banned March 25, 2023 Sainte‑Soline protest.
- The Défenseure des droits reviewed 84 hours of gendarmerie video and interviews and documented numerous 'tirs tendus'—directed shots from LBD launchers and tear‑gas grenades that are formally prohibited—that caused many very serious injuries.
- Hédon reported repeated dehumanising and 'ordurier' language by many gendarmes, including calls to mutilate or kill protesters and boasts about inflicting injury, and she named specific personnel for review.
- The watchdog flagged procedural failings in the IGGN administrative inquiry and formally asked the Interior Ministry to open disciplinary proceedings against identified gendarmes and some commanders.
- The Interior Ministry said 40 gendarmes were identified in its administrative work and 33 received disciplinary treatment for inappropriate remarks, while judicial investigations opened in Rennes into the 'tirs tendus' continue and will guide any further sanctions.