The conditions under which the demonstration on Monday, November 23, took place at Place de la République in Paris, organized by the Utopia association, raise questions. 500 undocumented migrants, overseen by members of the association, were evacuated by the police. Did Utopia exploit the distress of the migrants, as claimed by a security expert present on that day?
The domestic intelligence services, which are currently struggling to identify and trace the feared vandals known as Black Blocs, have nonetheless established the danger posed by certain ultra-left movements, anarchists linked with vandals: “There is a certain porosity between these individuals and the Black Blocs,” clinically observes a DGSI officer.
Notable progress in isolating vandals was recorded during the demonstrations on December 12. The fear of the infiltration of demonstrators by “uncontrolled” elements takes us back to the heart of May 1968. The rumor suggested the action of infiltrated police officers within student marches who acted covertly against demonstrators. It’s a miracle there weren’t dozens of deaths. The Paris police prefect Maurice Grimaud managed to avoid the worst.
Calls for the murder of police officers
Times have changed. Now, the slogan from the sixties “CRS/SS” is replaced online by calls for the murder of law enforcement members. It is one of the reasons that prompted the authorities, in Article 24 of the law on the freedom of the press, to require that police officers should not be identified due to the risk of reprisals.
In the immediate term, the government must restore the image of the police forces, which are at the end of their rope. Alain Bauer, founder of the National Delinquency Observatory, remarked as early as 2019 “the worst record we’ve seen in years.” “In two decades, assaults [insults, rebellions, violence] against public authority figures have increased by 60%.”
Beyond rewriting the Global Security law, an overhaul of the police is necessary. Reform of the IGPN, the police watchdog? A change in vision regarding law enforcement strategies?
Reconnecting French people with the police
The Head of State has just tasked the government with making proposals to reconnect the country with its police. The press, although not solicited, should participate in this effort while maintaining its independence. No doubt it will be necessary to rebuild, with sufficient resources, a police force closer to citizens. And without nostalgically evoking the France of the “peacekeepers” or the “swallows” riding their bicycles in the open wind, it is clear that many French citizens want to regain confidence in their police.
I have personally witnessed the extensive field experience of a police rescue unit in Nice. These peacekeepers, who encounter human distress daily, intervened after the suicide of a friend. They were remarkably humane. It is an image I will not soon forget.
Paul Barelli, president of the Club de la Presse06
