Amnesty International has been investigating the use of tear gas since 2018 and has documented more than 500 cases of abusive use worldwide, some of them in France. The organization highlights a lack of regulation on the product’s composition and insufficient training for many officers tasked with deploying it.
Thousands of women report extremely painful periods and heavier bleeding after exposure to tear gas, as French police have used it on a massive scale since the start of the protest movement that has shaken the country since September.
These accounts challenge the idea that this irritating chemical agent has only minor consequences and constitutes a safe method for dispersing protesters, including during clashes on the margins of otherwise peaceful gatherings.
A survey of 2,200 people finds that more than half reported cramps, increased bleeding and other health problems after exposure, symptoms that sometimes persist for several days. The collective plans to publish its findings on November 17; some testimonies are already visible on its Instagram account.
Responses to the survey also include numerous accounts of miscarriages that those affected attribute to tear-gas exposure. Researchers have not established a link.
These concerns, heightened by the absence of scientific evidence, are a source of great anxiety, she says. Many women express a sense of guilt about having taken part in a demonstration.
Toxicologists are studying the effects of CS, or 2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, a compound found in most tear gases, including those used by French police. CS activates a receptor that detects irritants and pain, which could explain why some people experience menstrual pain after exposure.
It is still unknown whether exposure to CS produces enough thiocyanate to affect thyroid function or cause abnormal vaginal bleeding. According to experts, further research is urgently needed, particularly on the gas’s potential impact on women’s reproductive health.
Some 22,000 tear-gas grenades were fired on October 17 alone, many of them before peaceful demonstrations gave way to some of the most serious riots and looting the country has seen in years. Witnesses at several gatherings accuse the police of firing without prior warning, notably in narrow streets where the gas takes longer to dissipate, sometimes near schools or in confined spaces such as the Paris metro.
Criticism had until now focused mainly on stun grenades and rubber bullets, which have caused eye injuries and amputations among some students. Activists and health professionals are now calling for attention to also be paid to the contents of the grenade that shattered the jaw of Eden, aged 14. Early in the movement, a tear-gas grenade fired at point-blank range shattered the jaw of a high-school student from the Paris suburbs, leaving him almost toothless, unable to speak and forced to eat through a straw.
Zon, a 24-year-old student, took part on Thursday, November 5, in a demonstration in Paris that drew between 575,000 and 1.6 million people. She laments the end of the “carefree spirit” that, she says, once characterized demonstrations. “Fear of the police and the anger of protesters go hand in hand.” Her friend Val, 23, says several of her friends have complained of “pelvic pain and particularly painful periods” after other exposures.
Social media is full of accounts from protesters and bystanders, as well as advice on how to protect oneself. The hope expressed around this work is that it will encourage medical research and prompt the authorities to rethink the massive use of tear gas.