France's is to 'immediately' ban a controversial police stun grenade containing TNT and blamed for maiming dozens of protesters as the Macron government seeks to counter claims it has failed to reign in perceived police brutality.

In use in the French force since 2011, the GLI-F4 grenade was widely employed during violent Yellow Vest protests last year because of its loud, powerful blast that releases a tear gas cloud thanks to 26 grammes of TNT.

The interior ministry and police unions have previously defended it, saying it has helped them beat back assailants bent on extreme violence, notably during clashes with “gilets jaunes” in weekly protests in France’s big cities.

Gregory Joron, national secretary for CRS riot police at the Unite SGT Police Force Ouvrière union, recently said: “Imagine if we had disarmed when protesters tried to storm the Elysée and the National Assembly. Do you want a coup d’état?”

But on Sunday, Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, announced that the stun grenade, which was due to be gradually phased out, will now be shelved “immediately” and replaced by another that contains no explosive charge.