Eleven days after the violence against the police which punctuated the May 1 parades, the police unions were received, at their request, this Friday, May 12 at the Élysée. They want in particular an anti-thug law and more severity on the part of justice.
More than an hour of interview with Emmanuel Macron’s chief of staff and the head of internal security, and discussions on the right track, according to Fabien Vanhemelryck, general secretary of the Alliance police union. ” We obviously mentioned the anti-breakers law, he said. They are strong supporters of this law and they say it will be implemented. It was also requested that the judges sometimes explain the proposed sanction. The judge must explain why he does not firmly sanction one fact or another. »
An anti-thug law supported by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, but for the moment, not yet acted by the Elysée. For the unions, it must prevent the police from being targeted.
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Put pressure on the executive
” The main point is to make the thug understand that he no longer has the right to come to the demonstrations, continues Fabien Vanhemelryck. How ? Quite simply by assigning him to residence, quite simply by having him show up at the police station two, three, four times, five times if necessary so that he does not go to the demonstration. And above all, behind it, there is the necessary legal process. When you assault a police officer today, you risk five years in prison, the average firm sentence handed down is six months, and these are not the figures of the National Police Alliance, these are the figures of justice. »
For the moment, no timetable has been set, but the police intend to use future major events, such as the Rugby World Cup and the Olympic Games, to put pressure on the executive.