French police rally in Paris stirs government into action

The police’s protest movement, organised almost entirely on social media, did not have the backing of their trade unions until this week.

As FreeWestMedia reported earlier, protest action by French law enforcement has been ongoing. Ten days of nightly demonstrations were spontaneously organised in cities across France, as officers feel neglected by police hierarchy they deem as “out of touch” with the reality of a multicultural society.

Earlier protests by angry French policemen

The government quickly caved in to their demands on Wednesday as elections loom large. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced that the police would receive an extra €250 million in funding for updated equipment, and promised an inquiry would follow into police officers’ rights to self defence.

A small group of officers, off duty from their normal beat in Versailles, told FRANCE 24 earlier they were “at the end of their tether” after “decades of neglect by changing governments that have eroded our ability to function properly in a job we love”.

Under the rules of police engagement – identical to civilian rules governing self-defence – an officer is often too afraid to use his weapon, a protesting off-duty officer complained. That fact has made their work more dangerous.

“We work in filthy, run-down police stations, we have to provide much of our own equipment – business cards and even pens. We don’t have up-to-date communications or radio equipment and we are expected to rely almost completely on our private mobile phones,” said another policeman, standing in the crowd of some 600 of his fellow officers on the Pont de la Concorde outside the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.

“Above all, we are restricted in what we are allowed to do to defend ourselves when we are under attack,” he said.

The series of demonstrations which began almost a fortnight ago, was sparked after four officers while in their patrol vehicle, were attacked by a African gang armed with Molotov cocktails. Two officers were seriously wounded, while one remains in a serious condition in hospital.

Law enforcers told FRANCE24 it’s a Catch-22 situation. “When someone is holding a petrol bomb and is ready to throw it, if you use your weapon you are in big trouble. If the petrol bomb lands on you before you can use your weapon, you are also in big trouble because you are being burned. So what’s the point of being armed?” one said.

“I have never once used my sidearm in my ten years on the job,” he added. The French police do not have the same powers they have in the US. Moreover, the officers are expected to buy their own bullet-proof vests because those are not provided by the government.

Politicians representing the conservative opposition Les Républicains and Marine Le Pen’s National Front parties have supported the protests and lined up to speak to journalists covering the event. Officers sang the Marseillaise, the national anthem, at the gathering.

Police Brigadier Sébastien Jallamion told FRANCE 24: “The legitimacy of the grievances is all ours. Officers here are fed up with the inactivity of their unions.” The unions only called for members to join Wednesday’s protest after word of the demonstration had spread on social media, but despite their slow response to grievances it is the unions that will be received by the government this evening.

Unions hailed the announcement as “very significant”, and warned that “concrete measures will have to be made quickly”.

A poll published on Wednesday by French daily Le Figaro showed that 90% of French citizens support police protests.