An administrative court in Montreuil, just outside Paris, ordered the state to pay €105,350 to Joachim Gatti. Gatti’s lawyers had asked for more than €500,000.
His injury had prevented him from doing his previous job as a cameraman and editor because of the effect it had had on his vision, the court’s ruling noted.
It also limited the jobs for which he could retrain, it added. Gatti has since found part-time work as a cook and a teacher.
The controversial weapon used against Gatti fires a “flashball”, a kind of rubber bullet, and has since caused similar injuries at other demonstrations.
During the ‘yellow vest’ protests in 2018 and 2019 several demonstrators were severely injured – losing eyes, feet or hands – many as a result of police use of non-lethal weapons such as rubber bullets and flash grenades.
Lost eyes, hands blown off – the injuries from ‘yellow vest’ clashes with police
The police officer who fired the weapon that hit Gatti was convicted on appeal in 2018, receiving an 18-month suspended sentence.
Gatti was injured on July 8th, 2009, when police moved in to clear a squat in Montreuil and dispersed demonstrators who had gathered in front of the building.