Hundreds of police officers converged on the National Assembly in central Paris on Wednesday to protest an ever-increasing workload, outdated equipment and rules restricting their ability to defend themselves, reports FRANCE 24.
The protest follows almost 10 days of nightly demonstrations in cities across France, spontaneously organised on social media by officers who view both the government and the police hierarchy as “out of touch”.
At the end of the day’s protest, the government promised an extra €250 million, and a review of officers’ rights to defend themselves when under attack.
Earlier, a small group of protesting officers, off duty from their normal beat in Versailles, told FRANCE 24 they were “at the end of their tether” after “decades of neglect by changing governments that have eroded our ability to function properly in a job we love”.
“We work in filthy, run-down police stations, we have to provide much of our own equipment – business cards and even pens. We don’t have up-to-date communications or radio equipment and we are expected to rely almost completely on our private mobile phones,” said Alexandre Langlois, standing in the crowd of some 600 off-duty officers on the Pont de la Concorde outside the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament.
“Above all, we are restricted in what we are allowed to do to defend ourselves when we are under attack,” he said.
The wave of protests that began 10 days ago was sparked by an attack on four officers by a gang armed with Molotov cocktails. Two officers were seriously wounded, and one of them remains in a serious condition in hospital.
Langois’ colleague Nicolas explained that under their rules of engagement – identical to civilian rules governing self-defence – the officer had “probably been too afraid to use his weapon”.
“It’s what you would call a Catch-22,” he said. “When someone is holding a petrol bomb and is ready to throw it, if you use your weapon you are in big trouble. If the petrol bomb lands on you before you can use your weapon, you are also in big trouble because you are being burned. So what’s the point of being armed?”
“I have never once used my sidearm in my 10 years on the job, and I hope I never have to,” he added, to vigorous agreement from his colleagues standing on either side of him.
“I don’t want to have the kinds of powers officers have in the US – none of us do. But we serve to protect the public. We need to feel that we too are protected, and that we can protect ourselves.”