Quite a symbol: Tuesday March 19, Emmanuel Macron launched the Place Nette operation, in the city of Castellane, in Marseille. An XXL campaign to fight against drug trafficking, which is very established in the northern districts of the city. On October 16, a video widely distributed on social networks showed two police officers from the specialized field brigade (BST) north attacked during an arrest in a building in the city. Seven months after its launch by the Head of State, police officers and experts note the impossibility of definitively resolving drug trafficking solely through Place Net.
And this, even in the highly publicized Castellane district, target of the efforts of the police. This is shown by a report from the Court of Auditors made public on October 20, which, while praising the efforts of the police, is concerned about the State’s capacity to fight against organized crime in the city. The question of staffing is highlighted by the magistrates. While he was still Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin announced reinforcements in August 2023, with the arrival in Marseille of the CRS 8, a unit specializing in the fight against urban violence. Already deployed in Mayotte, Dijon, or even Colmar, the young brigade is an “experience which is intended to be generalized” in the territory. “Finally, the CRS replace security missions usually assigned to emergency police,” observes a Marseille union police officer. In the police, today, everyone can act as a stopgap. The CRS, in particular, have become a form of patch to deal with the lack of resources.” New Caledonia, Martinique or one-off operations in large cities: even after the Olympic Games, CRS units and squadrons of mobile gendarmes remain in high demand.
A unit that has become versatile
The reflex is hardly surprising: created to manage public order disturbances linked to crowd movements, these units have become more and more versatile over time. It doesn’t date from today either. In 2017, a report from the Court of Auditors already highlighted an “increasing use of these forces” which today act as a “reserve” that the State uses for security and law enforcement missions. After a notable drop in their numbers at the beginning of the 2010s, they experienced a rebound, which however has not yet made it possible to “replenish all the units”. Today, there are 64 republican security companies (CRS) and 116 mobile gendarmerie squadrons (EGM). It is difficult to see clearly their precise distribution: contacted, Beauvau refused to communicate information deemed “too sensitive”. To trace the employment of mobile forces, L’Express therefore relied in particular on data provided by public documents and police unions.
When the unrest in New Caledonia exploded in early May, more than 2,000 members of the police were deployed to the territory. Five months later, there are still numerous agents present in the archipelago. “We increased to almost 6,000 agents at the end of September. Currently, there are still nearly 20 mobile gendarmerie squadrons in New Caledonia, three CRS companies, as well as around ten members of the judicial police and intelligence services “, explains Thierry Clair, secretary general of Unsa Police.
Two years to return to normal
Added to these forces are those deployed to maintain order in Martinique, shaken since September by riots against the high cost of living. A historic decision, as no company had set foot on the island since 1959 and the “Black December” riots. At the end of September, between 60 and 80 members of CRS 8 arrived in Fort-de-France. Members of two new companies have replaced them in recent days: 83, from Chassieu, near Lyon, and 81, from Marseille. “These are half-companies – of a little over sixty men,” continues Thierry Clair. So many agents not available elsewhere. “The mobile forces are the general reserve of the police and the gendarmerie. When, suddenly, around thirty of them are engaged thousands of kilometers away and are not available, that still hampers a hell of an operational possibility “, remarks Grégory Joron, secretary general of the SGP-Police-FO Unit.
In addition to two major crises overseas, mobile units also suffered the repercussions of the Olympic Games. The event mobilized 25,000 police officers and gendarmes, all brigades and companies combined. Enough to disrupt the vacation schedule, which the police have had difficulty completing until now. “There was indeed a ‘scissors effect’ which could have caused a return of visible delinquency, particularly in Paris, notes Grégory Joron. Firstly, because many took leave that they had not been able to take during the Olympics Then, due to changes that occurred around September 15, there were many departures from Paris, a reorganization of services Finally, the mobile forces were less available due to their presence in New Caledonia. also moments of pause.” If, today, the trade unionist estimates the situation has returned “to an almost standard attendance rate” at this time of the year, others are less optimistic. “Recently, the reinforcements have mainly gone to Paris, because of the Olympics and sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup, indicates a Marseille trade union official. In the mobile forces and in general, when we talk among ourselves, we believe that it will take two years to effectively restore staff numbers in all provincial constituencies.”
Units deployed in major cities
However, large cities have benefited, in recent years, from the arrival of “resident” CRS. This is particularly the case in Marseille, where three companies maintain order alongside traditional police personnel. “They have a complementary mission to those of the BAC or BST brigades, indicates a source close to the Bouches-du-Rhône police headquarters. As part of an operation against drug trafficking, when the latter call out, the first secure the neighborhood. This is the case in Castellane, in particular.” Present since 2021 in the Marseille city, they have been reinforced by the arrival of the CRS 81, which can also come and lend a helping hand – when its members are not deployed elsewhere.
These companies do not only exist in Marseille. “There are some in Lyon or Paris – in all major urban centers. These agents now remain on site almost permanently, explains Thierry Clair. Regular violence linked in particular to drug trafficking has led to the need for police units. CRS present almost permanently, in anticipation.” Yet another illustration of a unit that has become, according to the magistrates of the Court of Auditors, “an instrument for responding to a wide variety of problems”, and whose “sustainable nature of the need often transforms the permanent mission”. According to this latest report, “70 to 80 units of mobile gendarmes and CRS are assigned to permanent missions”. Among them, we find units dedicated to the national enhanced security plan (PNRS), dedicated to securing areas affected by crime, such as in Marseille. But also “missions to combat illegal immigration” for which at least eight CRS companies and five mobile gendarme units are constantly mobilized near the borders. Or even sites requiring constant surveillance – eight CRS companies and seven mobile gendarme units watch over embassies or places of worship.
The administration and elected officials are fond of this model. To the point of asking for them: since 2021, the mayor of Bordeaux, Pierre Hurmic, has also asked to have his own “residential” company. He renewed his appeal last week to the Minister of the Interior. The councilor believes that a CRS company modeled on those established “for a year in Marseille, Saint-Herblain, Chassieux and Montauban” would be “essential for dissuasive presence missions in the neighborhoods most exposed to attacks and theft violence as well as drug trafficking. Enough to become more than a patch?
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