Tension is rising among the police in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône). The latter dispute the placement in pre-trial detention of one of their colleague from the Bac, indicted on the night of Thursday to Friday with three other officials for violence in a meeting. They are suspected of having shot a flashball and then beaten Hedi, 21, on the sidelines of the urban riots in early July. Since Friday, many police officers have gone on sick leave or provide a minimum service. On the left, on the political spectrum, the police are criticized for questioning justice, while the director general of the police wants to see the agent released. Emmanuel Macron, during his interview with the 1 p.m. news from TF1 and France 2, affirmed that “no one in the Republic was above the law”. We summarize the situation in five acts.
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1. Riots, police custody and pre-trial detention
At the beginning of July, Hedi, a 21-year-old young man was found left for dead in Marseilles, during a night of riots. In a coma, he underwent a neurosurgery operation with trepanation, then a jaw operation. He could lose the use of his eye and was prescribed a 60-day ITT. Suspicions then fell on Bac agents who allegedly fired a flash-ball at the victim before beating him up.
An investigation is opened leading to the arrest of eight police officers. Finally, four are indicted, one of whom is remanded in custody. The other three are free, under judicial control, indicates the parquet floor of Marseille.
It is this placement in pre-trial detention that angers unions and police officers. In a joint press release, the Unsa Police and Alliance Police Nationale unions contest a “incomprehensible decision”arguing that pre-trial detention is a “exceptional measure which applies as much to citizens as to police officers”.
2. In support, the police go on “strike”
On union initiative (SGP Police Unit) but also personal, the police officers then began to go on a “work to rule” strike. Concretely, they have been providing a minimum service since Friday, with reference to code 562. This is a “computerized procedure code, provided by the administration, to say that the police are on duty, but not in the field”, explains Jean-Christophe Couvy, national secretary of the SGP Police FO union, to France Info.
Other civil servants opt for sick leave. No official figures have yet been released or confirmed. This Monday, Provence reports 659 absent according to the police and 300 according to the prefecture for the day of Sunday. The same day, in an interview with Parisian the director general of the police Frédéric Veaux recognized a “complicated situation in Marseille. These sick leaves do not extend to the rest of the territory even if there are solidarity movements”.
3. An online kitty
If the police went on Thursday to the premises of the IGPN in Marseille where their colleagues were placed in police custody, support was also organized online.
A kitty to raise funds has been launched by Bac Sud to help the families of the four police officers. Intended to cover legal costs, according to Rudy Manna, spokesperson for the Alliance union, the collection was finally suspended on Sunday, reports The Independent . “Several people have reported it”, explains one of the people behind the kitty. The Gofundme site that hosts the initiative is said to be carrying out checks and “verifications”.
According Point the support kitty would have raised more than €41,000 on Sunday afternoon.
4. The police boss wants the policeman released
On Saturday, the director general of the police Frédéric Veaux went to the site in Marseille. It was about ” not [de] calm the troops, but [de] talk to them and listen to them, said a ministerial source. Finally, on Sunday, he conceded that he agreed with the reason for the police’s anger, explaining that the temporary detention of the agent « [l]’prevents you from sleeping’, calling to “provide the technical and legal means so that this civil servant […] find freedom”. This one declares to have thus brought to the angry policemen a message of ” support “, from himself and the Ministry of the Interior.
“I consider that before a possible trial, a police officer has no place in prison even if he may have committed serious faults or errors in the course of his work. I exclude from my discussion matters which concern probity or honesty.continues Frédéric Veaux at Parisian. On Twitter, the prefect of police of Paris Laurent Nunez also indicates that he wishes the release of the imprisoned policeman.
Support from the hierarchy which did not seem to reassure Christophe Couvy, national secretary SGP Police FO. On France Info, this one considers that this « reconnaissance does not guarantee the release of their colleague. This is their condition for the protest movement to end. “If we want a fair trial and be able to defend ourselves, this colleague has nothing to do in pre-trial detention”, believes the union leader, who nevertheless assures that the “police do not want to be above the law”.
5. The left and magistrates are indignant at a questioning of the rule of law
On the left, the indignation is total. Among the Insoumis, the police strike and the support of their hierarchy is perceived as a challenge to the rule of law and justice.
« Is the government controlling the police or is it the police controlling the government? » wonders on Twitter the deputy LFI Louis Boyard. Jean-Luc Mélenchon called on Monday “to respect for republican institutions the police officers who entered into factious secessionin a blog post. On the side of the Marseille city, the deputy mayor of Marseille Samia Ghali (ex-PS) said to herself “shocked that the police question the work of justice. PS boss Olivier Faure judged « very serious » that “police hierarchy is placed above justice”wishing that Parliament would be “assembled urgently and challenged the Renaissance deputies on their silence.
The two main magistrate unions judged on Monday “very serious” the words of the boss of the national police according to whom “before a possible trial, a policeman has no place in prison”and called on the guarantors of the independence of justice to “react”.
“There is a fundamental principle in a democracy: the law is the same for everyone. Police officers who commit offenses in the exercise of their functions are liable to criminal sanctions,” like the other litigants, underlined to AFP the president of the SM, Kim Reuflet. “We find it very shocking that the DGPN openly put pressure on an individual case. It is also an institutional statement that undermines the authority of justice.she said.
The words of the boss of the national police are “scandalous” et “extremely serious in a state of law”, also reacted Cécile Mamelin, vice-president of the Union of magistrates (USM, majority).
LFI deputy Manuel Bompard is also surprised by the lack of reaction from Gérald Darmanin, who has still not officially taken a position.
The Minister of the Interior is currently traveling in New Caledonia, alongside Emmanuel Macron. The latter, questioned on the news of TF1 and France 2 in duplex, replied that “no one in the Republic was above the law”, refusing to comment on the controversial remarks of the boss of the DGPN.
The President nevertheless affirmed that he understood “emotion” police officers.
2023-07-24 12:50:06
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