The organisation ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture) recently published a report on the policing of protests in France, examining the period between November 2018 and January 2020. A summary has now been published in English, highlighting multiple failings of and abuses by French police forces in the policing of protests. The report also sets out the structure of French policing and its formal approach to public order situations.
The summary: Maintaining law and order: at what cost? Summary of the report on developments in law enforcement practices and their impact on personal freedoms (pdf):
“The significant use of nonspecialised forces and nonlethal weapons, the high number of people injured and the increase and the crystallisation of tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement officers points to a dysfunctional maintenance of law and order which at times fails to fulfill its primary mission: guaranteeing the optimal exercise of public freedoms.”
The full report is available in French: Maintien de l’ordre : à quel prix? (ACAT, link)