There was, after numerous intimidations and threats, the fire last March of the home of Yannick Morez, now ex-mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique). There was, on Sunday July 2, the car-ram attack on the home of Vincent Jeanbrun, city councilor (LR) of L’Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne), during one of the nights riots sparked by Nahel’s death. Not to mention the other cases of elected officials attacked in recent months, much less publicized.
To remedy this growing phenomenon, the government is launching a five million euro plan to strengthen the protection of elected officials. By measures: automatic functional protection and psychological support, announced this Friday, July 7 Dominique Faure, the Minister in charge of Territorial Communities, in a interview in the world.
“Today, when a mayor takes legal action, it may incur costs and he may not have legal protection. That’s why we are going to make it automatic,” she explained. Elected officials will therefore no longer need to go through a deliberation of the municipal council, as is currently the case. Insurance costs will also be borne by the State for all municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants – against 3,500 today. An elected victim of aggression may also request psychological support for him or his family.
call button
As part of the security pack announced in mid-May after the shock resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique), 1,769 mayors, and a total of 5,159 elected officials, registered in the file which triggers , in case of appeal, a faster intervention of the police. To this will be added a call button, in the form of a small box, in which five telephone numbers will be recorded and that elected officials will be able to activate in the event of an attack.
Finally, three million euros will be used to install video surveillance cameras as well as devices “to secure the premises in front of the town hall or the mayor’s home”, after authorization from the public prosecutor, said the minister. As for the strengthening of criminal penalties, which will result in an alignment of penalties with those provided for in the event of violence against uniformed officers, it will be the subject of a law “in the fall”.
According to Dominique Faure, the riots triggered by the death of Nahel, 17, killed by the shooting of a policeman in Nanterre, caused around “150 million euros” in damage to public buildings. Among the other measures announced, cases of harassment against an elected official will be considered as an aggravating circumstance. In the event of a decision to be dismissed, the public prosecutor’s offices must “explain clearly and quickly” why the complaint was unsuccessful.
In 2022, 2,265 complaints and reports of verbal or physical violence against elected officials were recorded. An increase of 32% compared to 2021, according to the Ministry of the Interior. But “we observe a slight drop” since the beginning of 2023, said Dominique Faure. “1,241 procedures have been opened. In 72% they are mayors, and even 87% if we extend to municipal councillors,” said the minister.