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TechnoratiTaser guns back on French streets
Authorities in France have passed legislation that would equip municipal police forces with muscle incapacitating weapons known as tasers. Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said police officers would not be obliged to carry the weapons at this stage in spite of police pressure to get the weapons onto the streets.
It comes in the wake of the death of a police officer last week during a shootout in Villiers-sur-Marnes on the outskirts of Paris.
Hortefeux is meeting municipal police union representatives on Thursday to discuss the implementation of the weapon.
It has not yet been decided if all police officers will be required to carry the taser or whether it will be left to each local administration to assess its effectiveness.
In September 2009, the Council of State suspended the use of electro-shock weapons by local police forces, ruling that they had been introduced without adequate training and safeguards.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Amnesty International criticised the French police for excessive use of force.
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