The French government this Sunday asked to avoid generalizations about the French police after the death Tuesday of the young Nahel in a “stop operation”, and guaranteed that, in case of abuse, the judiciary will investigate.
“It must be ensured that generalizations are not made on the basis of a specific situation. This, I believe, is the message that our security forces mobilized on the ground must hear,” the French government defended, according to statements by the spokesman. voice of the executive, Olivier Véran, to the public channel FranceInfo.
Asked about the use of force by security forces, especially since a law change that expanded the justifiable use of guns in 2017, the government spokesman stressed that justice works.
“Where there were failures, where it was excessive, where it was inappropriate, there is an investigation by the General Inspectorate and justice is there,” Véran argued.
The same position was already underlined on Friday by Emmanuel Macron’s government, after being censured by the UN Human Rights Office, which called for a serious approach to “the deep problems of racism and discrimination” faced by law enforcement. Paris firmly rejected it.
But regarding the death of Nahel, a minor of Arab descent who was shot dead by police in Nanterre, on the outskirts of Paris, on Tuesday, the government spokesman admitted that it is a “human tragedy that requires a response from the judiciary”. has”. .
Véran also analyzed the situation in the country after five consecutive nights of riots, mainly involving young people, some of them aged 13 and 14, and the conditions of inequality and lack of opportunity in many popular neighborhoods that are fertile ground for this served violence.
In this sense, he defended the measures Macron has taken over the past five years.
“I don’t understand how 12/13 year olds can be in the middle of a city at 3am, far from home, with a metal bar in their hand,” he remarked.
At the same time as these statements, the French Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, and the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, traveled to the town of L’Haÿ-les-Roses (on the southern outskirts of Paris), whose mayor, Vincent Jeanbrun, was the target, he believed, of an “attack” on his residence.
While he was working at City Hall, those wanted for attempted murder drove a burning car into the house where his wife and two children, ages five and seven, were staying. One of the children had to be treated for injuries, as did the mother, who broke her leg.
France’s local authorities this Sunday announced a demonstration for Monday in protest of the attack on the mayor of L’Hay-les-Roses, in what is believed to be the most serious incident on record against a government official in the five nights of rioting those followed the death of the young man.
Jeanbrun, who was coordinating security with the city council at the time, described what happened as an “unspeakably cowardly assassination attempt” and a “true milestone of horror and disgrace”.
French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne condemned the attack on behalf of the French government.
In response to the attack, the president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), David Lisnard, called a demonstration for Monday at noon in front of the country’s town halls.
“The AMF decided to appeal to elected officials and the population to mobilize. We are not giving up and therefore tomorrow [segunda-feira]In the afternoon, we decided with all the mayors of France to declare a demonstration in the squares of the town halls, where we will make noise before continuing our daily work to restore order,” he said in statements released by TF1.
According to the most recent official data, at least 719 people were arrested on Saturday night, 45 police officers were injured, 871 fires were set in the streets and 74 buildings were damaged.
Despite the still high numbers, the French Ministry of the Interior confirmed that this night was “quieter” than the previous one.
Today, at 7:30 pm local time (6:30 pm in Lisbon), Macron plans to analyze the situation in the Élysée Palace with some of his ministers.
Source: DN
