Injuries caused by defensive bullet launchers and resource utilization during the French yellow vests protests: A retrospective study

Florent Fémy; Nour Sultan-Dumenil; Eva Marciano; Jérome Bokobza; Anthony Chauvin; Christophe Choquet; Carl Ogereau; Quentin Delannoy; Philippe Juvin; Anne-Laure Feral-Pierssens; WOLVES investigator group

doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2023.07.023

Injuries caused by defensive bullet launchers and resource utilization during the French yellow vests protests: A retrospective study

Am J Emerg Med. 2023 Oct:72:122-126. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2023.07.023. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

Affiliations

¹ IMPEC Federation, 103 boulevard Magenta, 75010 Paris, France; Emergency Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France; Toxicology and Chemical Risks Department, French Armed Forces Biomedical Institute, Base aérienne 217, 91220 Bretigny-Sur-Orges, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Emergency Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France.
³ Emergency Department, Ambroise Paré Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 11 rue des menus, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
⁴ IMPEC Federation, 103 boulevard Magenta, 75010 Paris, France; Emergency Department, Cochin Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 27 rue du faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ IMPEC Federation, 103 boulevard Magenta, 75010 Paris, France; Emergency Department, Lariboisière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 2 rue Ambroise Paré, 75010 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Emergency Department, Bichat Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 46 rue Henri Huchard, 75018 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Emergency Department, Saint-Louis Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 1 avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75010 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ IMPEC Federation, 103 boulevard Magenta, 75010 Paris, France; Emergency Department, Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 91 boulevard de l'hôpital, 75013 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Emergency Department, Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 20 rue Leblanc, 75015 Paris, France; Sorbonne Université, 21 rue de l'Ecole de Médecine, 75006 Paris, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
¹⁰ IMPEC Federation, 103 boulevard Magenta, 75010 Paris, France; SAMU 93 - Emergency Department, Avicenne Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 125 avenue de Stalingrad, 93000 Bobigny, France; LEPS UR 3412, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 74 rue Marcel Cachin, 93017 Bobigny, France. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37523992
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2023.07.023

Abstract

Background: In 2018, the French "Yellow Vest" social protest movement spread with weekly demonstrations resulting in confrontations between protesters and law enforcement. Non-lethal weapons, such as defensive bullet launchers (DBL) were used, and significant injuries have been reported through media, leading to public controversy regarding their use. These injuries are not well-known to civilian emergency physicians. The aim of this study is to describe the injuries caused by DBL among Emergency Department (ED) patients during these demonstrations and to identify the characteristics that required specialized care and hospital admission.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 7 EDs of academic hospitals in Paris, France. Adult ED patients who presented with DBL injuries during "yellow vest" strikes between November 2018 and May 2019 were included. The primary outcome was the rate of DBL patients requiring hospital admission. We also compared the characteristics of the injuries and the care provided between the admitted patients and other DBL patients.

Results: 152 patients were included. 17% were admitted to hospital, with 19% of them being transferred to intensive care units. 49% of all patients had head, face, eye or neck injuries including 4 cases of intracranial hemorrhage, 1 carotide dissection, 1 laryngeal edema, 1 pneumencephalus. 11% of all patients presented with multiple wounds, and 28% had fractures (77% of admitted patients vs 18%, p < 0.001). Surgery was required for 20% of all patients (62% of admitted patients vs 10%, p < 0.001). Maxillofacial surgery was performed on 38% of admitted patients, orthopedic surgery on 25%, and neurosurgery on 13%. No death were reported.

Conclusion: The use of DBL during the "yellow vest" civil strikes was associated with a high rate of head, face, eye or neck injuries among injured ED patients. Hospital admission was associated with a higher rate of fractures, with most of them requiring maxillofacial, orthopedic and neurosurgeries.

Keywords: Defense ball launchers; Non-lethal weapons; Rubber bullets; Wounds.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Fractures, Bone* / epidemiology
Fractures, Bone* / therapy
Hospitalization
Humans
Law Enforcement
Retrospective Studies
Weapons*