It was just another farce, the kind that the Republic loves so much, ever since the Panama scandal or the affair of decorations sold by the son-in-law of President Jules Grévy, who thus rounded off his ends of the month. They made people laugh, admittedly bitterly, and boulevard authors seized them to write entertaining plays.
But since the Minister of Justice announced the deferral of the constitutional revision, this Benalla affair has become a State affair. A true one, which raises questions.
That an individual wearing – wrongly – a police armband and a riot control officer’s helmet beats up demonstrators in a Paris square is already unheard of. That this boxer uncle acts in front of senior police officers is simply inconceivable. That the latter copied the video of the scene to hand it over to him goes beyond comprehension.
It is understandable how much the Minister of the Interior and the Paris police prefect, heard by the deputies, were uncomfortable, finally aware of the explosive nature of this event. The chain of responsibilities and all the consequences must be drawn from it, that is the minimum owed to the French people.
In any case, the Jupiterian power is seriously shaken by this affair that no one saw coming. Except perhaps – but this is only speculation – by those who waited two and a half months before exposing these actions to the press. They chose their timing well: after the World Cup, which attracted all the attention, at a time when the elected officials were going to discuss the constitutional reform and the “Asylum and Immigration” bill, two politically divisive subjects.
The power is now in a position both of the accused and of weakness. In a word, weakened. It cannot, in any case, count on the summer to hope to get through this storm unscathed, the power of which is already devastating. Poor Gérard Collomb, who was not aware of much according to him, hardly supported during the ordeal by his Prime Minister, who remained silent until he was confronted in the Assembly by opposition deputies.
Although remaining silent still constitutes the best way not to say foolish things, the executive branch and the president – directly implicated – will not be able to avoid providing an explanation.
In his time, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing politically paid the price for the diamond affair by treating this matter with contempt. He refused to lower himself to justify himself (years later, it turned out that the stones had very little value). The voters gave him a return ticket to Chamalières on May 10, 1981.
Before the already broken pots become irreparable, Emmanuel Macron remembered, taking responsibility for the affair on Monday night – with a martial tone that could be perceived as arrogance – without giving explanations. Will it be enough?
Jean-Marie Chevalier, Les Petites Affiches
