Police brutality shakes legislative campaign in France

since the rebellion yellow vests At the end of 2018, the maintenance of order in France was stifled by an unprecedented police crackdown in decades (1 dead, around 30 demonstrators lost their eyes and 5 without hands). divides the gala society. Suburban residents, social movement militants and new generations tend to be particularly critical of the police, while the wealthy classes declare themselves indifferent to the security forces in the face of the alleged increase in crime. data officers.

Mélenchon accused police of ‘killing’

This split erupted in a new duel between the centre-right of President Emmanuel Macron, whose mainstay was a former conservative electorate, and the new unitary front of the left led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, known for his bad relations with the police. unions. The same leader of France’s Insumisa (partners of Podemos in France) had assumed this Tuesday that he wanted to create controversy to include “disproportionate use of police violence” in the discussion.

“Still an unacceptable abuse of power. Implement the death penalty for a crime of disobedience to authorityMélenchon tweeted on Saturday that his driver (with a criminal record, drinking and driving without a license) was seriously injured following the death of a 21-year-old woman who was traveling as a co-pilot in a vehicle. “The police are killing”, the leader of the New People’s Union denounced on Twitter on Monday, after this tragic death had so far gone public.

With this statement, Mélenchon set in motion the complacent legislative campaign that Macron could lose an absolute majority in the National Assembly. But it also received a wave of criticism from its competitors. “I find it very impressive how Mélenchon systematically attacks the police with completely scandalous comments,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said in a radio interview. France Blue. “He is always on the side of thugs and criminals, never on the side of the forces of order,” said far-right Marine Le Pen, who virtually disappeared from the political circle after the rebel leader captured the police. opposition leadership.

Police “against the disproportionate use of violence”

“I’ve never been anti-police. I am against the disproportionate use of violence,” Mélenchon tweeted, along with an excerpt from an interview on the radio station on Tuesday. France Inter. “I want us to stop this escalation, not to be the United States,” he said on the morning radio show, which has France’s largest audience. The rebel leader started this controversial discussion at a time when the police were concerned. In addition to the events at the Stade de France, police officers also used tear gas at the Paris train station on Saturday night to disperse a group of people trying to get on the backup buses.

Police have been involved in recent months four murders in response to crimes of disobedience to authority. On the night of April 24, two teenagers were shot dead by an agent with an assault rifle while they were trying to escape from the police checkpoint. The agent involved is charged with “manslaughter”, which is unusual in France. In the case involving the death of the 21-year-old, Justice has not yet charged the three agents who fired, although it has opened an investigation.

In early 2017, amid a wave of jihadist attacks, the French Parliament passed a law expanding the conditions under which agents can fire. Since that time, The number of security forces resorting to firearms increased by 50%, according to General Inspection data. It’s an increasingly common use of force that fuels debate about this kind of situation. France, which criticizes the “killing policeman”, supports “a policeman who defends himself”. This social break will also be reflected in the ballot boxes on 12 and 19 June.