PARIS (Reuters) – French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Thursday said he understood frustration and anger among the country’s overworked security forces after recent bouts of street violence, but urged police not to let down the population and serve the public interest.
His televised remarks, delivered against the backdrop of a Paris police station, came as the government struggles to allay discontent within the police force over what many see as tough working conditions, deepened by the recent incarceration of an officer in Marseille many officers found unfair.
“I want to say that I can understand this fatigue, sadness and emotion”, Darmanin said before heading into a meeting with police union representatives, but added police agents mustn’t forget their “sense of mission”.
“Because who suffers when the police aren’t on the street? It’s the woman facing violence from her partner, it’s the child in distress (…), it’s the inhabitants of working-class neighbourhoods who can’t assure their security and who are counting on police.”
The Marseille-based officer held in detention is accused of “voluntary violence” during the wave of rioting that swept through France earlier this month that left a 21-year-old badly hurt.
His arrest sparked anger among colleagues across the country and lead to a ‘go slow’ through concerted sick leave taking in some places.
In a weekend newspaper interview, the national police chief Frederic Veaux said “a police officer does not belong in prison, even if he did wrong or committed serious errors at work.”
His remarks were widely perceived as a challenge to the independence of the judiciary and caused outrage among France’s political left who accused the official of disrespecting the separation of power.
Darmanin on Thursday defended Veaux, saying he was an “excellent” police chief that he was “proud to count among my coworkers.”
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, Nicolas Delame and Camille Raynaud; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
