Clash Between French Government and Policemen Protesters Persists

French police officers continued to protest their government’s failure to ensure safe working conditions for its law enforcement officials recently despite President François Hollande's move to open negotiations with police unions on October 26. Now that the government has already reached out to police unions, it is taking a more firm stance against these ongoing protests.

President Hollande and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, in a move which many believe was an attempt to appease the protesters, unveiled a €250 million plan on October 26 that aims to ensure that French police officers remain safe while on duty. Among a variety of measures, the proposal will review the government’s stance on the use of necessary force and legitimate self-defense by police officers under duress. According to Cazeneuve, “It will now be up to the Parliament to approve these new propositions...in order to assure swift national change.”

Despite these efforts, some protesters believe that the proposed plan will not lead to concrete change, and they have continued to gather across the country. Four hundred policemen  assembled on October 28 in front of the Palace of Versailles, chanting, “The police will compromise nothing,” along with another thousand on the streets of Lyon on October 27.

Other protesters gathered in smaller towns like Saint-Etienne, Cherbourg, Lille, and Strasbourg throughout the past week to demand greater protection for the police. Cyril Thiboust, head of Police Union SGP Police FO, expressed that the government’s plan does not do enough to punish those who attack police officers. Thiboust stated, “Our colleagues want a real penal response.” Another policeman in Versailles called the reform plan a front, stating,  “Investigating the matters are fine, but we want concrete change [sic].”

Since issuing its proposed reforms on October 26, Hollande’s government has retaliated against remaining protesters. In Marseille, on-duty police officers brought in thirty protesters to the local precinct where they were reprimanded by their superiors. Police Chief Laurent Nunez did defend his colleagues’ protests and instead stated that he would impose a firm reminder of order on the protesters. In a statement to the French Press Agency (AFP), Nunez explained that the government was already taking “strong and swift measures that largely meet the protesters’ demands… We do not understand why, then, these gatherings are still taking place.”