The news outlet reported on Wednesday that human rights watchdogs had been warning for years about the dangers of the use of Flash-ball guns by security forces during mass rallies but the Interior Ministry still continues to stockpile these non-lethal weapons.
2 MILLION EUROS TO BE PAID FOR THE NEW WEAPONS
Although the government has not published any official data regarding the number of people who have been injured by plastic bullets used in this kind of guns, as many as 30 people may have been wounded by Flash-balls during protests in France over the past few weeks, the outlet said.
The outlet also estimates that the government could pay 2 million euros ($2.2 million) for the new batch of guns.
According to Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency and the RT broadcaster, 12 RT reporters were injured by tear gas grenades and rubber bullets during the mass rallies in Paris.
The “yellow vest” protesters began in mid-November to rally against fuel tax increases and subsequently against the wider liberal economic reform policy of Macron, who made tax and salary concessions earlier this month. The French government has scrapped its planned hike in diesel taxes, but the “yellow vests” have started protesting other government policies and rising living costs.