Skip to content

Not yet reviewed by a lawyer. Sourced information, to be confirmed.

Dispersal, warnings and kettling

Key points

  • From the first warning, leave: staying afterwards can become an offence.
  • Leave calmly, as a group, hands visible, by a street spotted in advance.
  • All exits blocked? Tell the officers: staying because you can't leave is not staying voluntarily.
  • Kettled: stay together, ask for a way out, film and note the time.

Recognising a dispersal order, and leaving in time, avoids arrest: staying after the warnings can become an offence.

Flowchart: what to do at a dispersal

  1. Is a warning announced ("Obey the law, disperse")?1
    • Yes → leave straight away, calmly and as a group: staying after the warnings can become an offence.2
    • Not yet → spot the exit streets and your meeting point.
  2. Is there a way out?
    • Yes → leave with your hands visible, without turning back, away from the police line.
    • No → tell the officers and ask which way to go; note the time, film if you can.1
  3. Are you kettled?
    • Yes → stay together away from the edges, ask for a way out, point out anyone ill or underage, film and note the time; alert the legal team.
    • No → go to your meeting point and let your contact know.
  4. Arrested? → Police custody.

What the law says

  • An unlawful assembly (attroupement) is a gathering on the public highway likely to disturb public order. It can be dispersed by force after two warnings (sommations) go unheeded.12
  • Voluntarily staying in an unlawful assembly after the warnings carries up to one year in prison and a €15,000 fine; up to 3 years and €45,000 with a covered face.2
  • Taking part in a protest that was simply not notified is not an offence; taking part in a banned protest carries a €135 fine.3

Recognising the warnings

  • They are announced by the police, often by loudspeaker ("Obéissance à la loi, dispersez-vous"), before force is used.1
  • From the first warning, start leaving: the second can follow quickly, with gas or a charge right after.
  • Don't panic during a charge: crowd-control units (CRS, mobile gendarmerie, CSI), usually in full armour, rarely charge over more than 70 m, unlike the BAC (in jeans). Don't pick up grenades by hand, especially unexploded ones.4

Leaving safely

  • Spot the exit streets and your group's meeting point beforehand (never stay alone).
  • Leave calmly, as a group, without running into the crowd; move away from the police line.
  • Keep your hands visible and don't turn back "to see what is happening".
  • If every exit is blocked, say so to the officers and ask where to go; staying because you cannot leave is not staying "voluntarily". Note the time and situation, film if you can.2

If you are kettled

Kettling (encerclement, "nasse") means boxing in a group of protesters. In 2021, the Conseil d'État annulled the rules framing it in the national policing scheme, for lack of sufficient safeguards.56

  • Stay calm and together, away from the edges where people push.
  • Ask officers for a way out; point out anyone ill, underage or in distress.
  • Film and note the time, place and duration: it matters if the situation is challenged later (film the police).
  • Alert the legal team if checks or arrests are announced at the exit.

If you are arrested: the custody guide

In one of these situations? facing dispersal warnings · kettled by the police · on my way to or from the protest · a beginner (it's my first protest) · a foreign national, undocumented or with a residence permit

Sources

Each note links to the source of the information. Most sources are in French. Laws change: check the date of the source and, if in doubt, ask a lawyer.

  1. LDH — Attroupement et dispersion de la manifestation (fiche, 2023) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

  2. Me Vincent Le Junter — Délit d'attroupement et dissimulation du visage · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩↩↩↩

  3. Amnesty International France — Nos droits en manifestation · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  4. Medicaction — Les gestes à adopter en manif (two-page leaflet, July 2024, in French) · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  5. Conseil d'État, 10 juin 2021, n° 444849 — schéma national du maintien de l'ordre · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

  6. Le Monde du droit — Manifestations : annulation partielle du schéma du maintien de l'ordre · AI-sourced on · awaiting human check ↩

SOS