The LBD (lanceur de balle de défense) is a high-precision, Swiss-manufactured weapon equipped with laser-pointer sights. Though categorised as “sublethal”, its potential to maim and kill, especially if pointed (as it should never be) at the upper body, is such that it is used in almost no other European country. The GLI-F4 stun grenades, which contain 25g of TNT and explode, before delivering CS gas, at a deafening 165 decibels, are also used only in France. President Emmanuel Macron and his minister of the interior, Christophe Castaner, have ignored repeated demands for the abandonment of the use of both weapons, from organisations including the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Council Of Europe, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and Reporters Sans Frontières. At the time of writing, both weapons continue to be used by the CRS. The French government’s sole concession has been to say that they will stop using stun grenades when stocks run out.

I think this is the meat and potatoes of the article