For fifteen days, the ranks of the police, in Marseilles and beyond, have been sparse. The fault of a movement of anger which seized the police after the detention of one of their colleagues in the Hedi case. This young man was seriously injured on the sidelines of the riots, victim of LBD fire and beaten by several police officers in the city center of the city. Four members of the anti-crime brigade (Bac) have been indicted in this case, and one of them has been remanded in custody. In protest, a wave of sick leave swept over the Marseille police, and beyond.
Among these police officers, some had checked the date of August 3 in their calendar, in order to know the outcome of a highly commented hearing. The police officer placed in pre-trial detention, and author of an LBD shot on Hedi, asked for his release. The Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal rejected this request on Thursday, for fear that the policeman, once free, would consult with his colleagues under investigation on the version to be given to the investigators.
Return to normal requested
The day after this decision, after having initially supported this police officer in detention, Frédéric Veaux changed his tone. It is time for the troops to be called to order, to return to normal in the name of the continuity of public service. In an internal memo, the director general of the national police asks that sick leave be now rejected and deductions from wages pronounced.
“There was a slow return to work in places,” notes Bruno Bartocetti, national secretary SGP Police Unit in charge of the South zone. But this return to work is not done with good heart, with police officers who would have been for some surprised by the decision of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal. “I talked a lot yesterday with my colleagues,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity. And there will be a before and after the Hedi affair for the police. They say: “Wait for the next riots, you will see, a lot less people will take risks!” They will have the police they deserve. “We are going to face a real problem of colleagues who are afraid at the administrative level. There will be a wave of requests for transfers to less exposed positions. »
“A Deep Thought”
“The police are doing badly and are experiencing deep discomfort, abounds Rudy Manna, spokesperson for the Alliance union. Today, we are killing this profession because there are too many difficulties. The job of cop no longer makes sense today. We are asked to arrest extremely violent guys. If you think we’ll be able to challenge them with Tagada strawberries, you’re wrong! I think there will be even more resignations this year. »
And to now call for a “real fundamental reflection. As soon as the decision was rendered, Alliance and Unsa Police expressed concern in a joint press release about the “legal insecurity” weighing on the police. For his part, the number one of SGP Police FO Unit calls for a debate on the judicial treatment of police officers, recalling that another was placed in pre-trial detention in connection with the death of young Nahel in Nanterre.
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who received the police unions last week to try to defuse the anger, asked the General Inspectorate of Administration (IGA) to submit proposals on the “protection functional” of the police. This involves legal assistance and the payment of lawyers’ fees in cases of questioning within the framework of their functions.