France will spend 21.8 million euros to quell the protests.
Fearing widespread social unrest, the French authorities will purchase 5,200 .40mm caliber guns with non-lethal ammunition to suppress protests.
According to RT news agency, findings in French government procurement records reveal that the National Gendarmerie and the Police will purchase 3,000 and 1,200 40mm grenade launchers with non-lethal ammunition, respectively. The French prison administration will purchase an additional 1,000 launchers. In total, 5,200 launchers and an equivalent number of scopes will be purchased. These agencies will also acquire 730 grenade launcher casings, nearly 2,000 slings, and 1,100 loose ammunition belts.
According to the documents, these weapons were intended to be used to fire tear gas and grenades to maintain public order. In other words, they could be used to suppress potential protests during the ongoing crisis in France.
Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Russian Center for Military and Political Press, told RT: The French authorities are allocating more resources to expand police capacity to suppress large-scale protests and unrest that could erupt in the coming months. He said the scale of the unrest will depend on whether it receives the support of trade unions and opposition political parties, who are criticizing President Macron and his team, stating that without a change in the current socio-economic situation, street pressure will continue.
"Throughout almost the entire presidency of Emmanuel Macron, France has been plagued by mass protests, stemming from both partisan and trade union movements."
The authorities understand this and are preparing, trying to strengthen the capacity of the police force – who have previously expressed dissatisfaction with the state's lack of adequate funding and protective equipment. This dissatisfaction has also been expressed in mass protests, along with other things such as letters from police officers to Mr. Macron," expert Rozhin noted.
According to RT sources, in addition to purchasing weapons for the police in France, training exercises are also being conducted to practice law enforcement actions against crowds.
The French Interior Ministry will purchase 5,200 grenade launchers for €21.8 million. The ministry plans to select a contractor by December 2025. These grenade launchers will fire both 40mm live ammunition and non-lethal rounds. This type of ammunition is intended "for arc firing in law enforcement and security missions."
Experts believe that the large-scale protests stem from widespread public dissatisfaction with President Macron's economic policies.
"Life for the French is getting worse and worse. Prices are rising: gasoline, electricity, oil... It's especially difficult in rural areas. That's why the 'yellow vest' movement was born, when they decided to abruptly switch to green energy, stop using diesel and encourage people to use electric vehicles. But for people living in the countryside and driving 100 km a day, their monthly salary is simply not enough," explains Sergei Fyodorov, a leading researcher at the European Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.