Gabriel Pontonnier, mutilated by a police grenade
Published on
On 24 November 2018, during Act II of the Gilets jaunes in Paris, Gabriel Pontonnier was seriously injured in the hand by the explosion of a GLI-F4 grenade. Almost seven years after the events, the trial of the police officer who threw the grenade will open on 11 September 2025. At the request of the Pontonnier family, Index is publishing a digital reconstruction report that will be used to support the proceedings at the hearing.
- Incident date
- Location
- Paris (France)
- Victim(s)
- Gabriel Pontonnier (21 y.o.)
- Consequence(s)
- Mutilated
- Force(s) involved
- National Police (FR), CRS (riot police)
- Methods employed
- Explosive grenade
- Theme(s)
On November 24, 2018, the Pontonnier family traveled from Sarthe to Paris to support the Yellow Vests movement. As night fell, they found themselves at the Champs-Élysées roundabout, trapped amid clashes and a police containment operation that prevented any exit.
Around 6:00 p.m., Florent Pontonnier, 30 years old, was filming a line of riot police (CRS) with his smartphone. He was standing in a side alley, within a small group moving away from the police. His brother Gabriel, 21, was by his side. The video extracted from the phone captures someone repeatedly shouting “Watch out!” A flash and a deafening explosion follow: a GLI-F4 grenade has just exploded in close proximity to the camera. Gabriel is severely injured in his right hand. Within seconds, Florent tries to assist him. You can hear him scream: "He’s lost his hand!"
Gabriel Pontonnier lost three fingers and part of his right hand in the blast. His brother and cousin were also injured in the legs and back. The judicial investigation, launched following the family’s complaint, identified Jackie D., a major in the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, as the officer who threw the grenade.
Police officer brought to trial
Six years later, in December 2024, Jackie D. is referred to the criminal court for “unintentional injuries resulting in total incapacity to work (ITT) exceeding three months.” The officer claims self-defense and asserts that he followed the engagement rules in place at the time.
At the request of the Pontonnier family and their lawyers, Index produced an analysis of the available video footage as well as a 3D digital reconstruction of the grenade throw carried out by Major Jackie D. This three-minute video report, accompanied by a methodological appendix, aims to shed light on the exact conditions under which the grenade that mutilated Gabriel Pontonnier was launched.
The video report was submitted to the court by the Pontonnier family’s legal team to be shown during the hearing and used as a basis for the proceedings.
Since the incident, the Interior Ministry withdrew GLI-F4 grenades from police use in 2020. They were replaced by the GM2L grenade, whose manufacturer, Alsetex, claims it functions “identically.” In 2019, the Interior Ministry itself described the GM2L as having “almost the same power” as the GLI-F4.