French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, a close political ally of President François Hollande, dismissed on Wednesday calls for his resignation after the death of a young ecology protester during clashes with police, reports Reuters.
Remi Fraisse, 21, was killed during a violent stand-off over the weekend between police and ecology protesters seeking to prevent construction of a dam in the Testet wetlands area of southern France. Supporters, including local farmers, say the project will help with irrigation of the zone.
Presenting initial findings on the death, a state prosecutor said on Tuesday he was probably the victim of an offensive grenade, an explosion-filled device sometimes used by police to disperse crowds in serious riot situations.
"I have absolutely no intention of quitting when I am doing my duty to the state and the republic," Cazeneuve told Europe 1 radio, adding that investigators had a "moral duty" to find out what happened and that any police abuse would be sanctioned.
Read more of this report from Reuters.