National tribute to the policeman Eric Masson killed in Avignon in the presence of Jean Castex, Gerald Darmanin, and Eric Dupond-Moretti – PHILIPPE MAGONI / SIPA
- Thousands of police are due to assemble in front of the National Assembly on Wednesday at the call of their unions, who want more severity towards “law enforcement aggressors”.
- The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced his participation in this rally, arousing reservations both within the police unions and the political class.
The place is symbolic. Two weeks after the murder of Brigadier Eric Masson in Avignon and a few days after the assault on an official in the Loire, thousands of police officers are expected, Wednesday, in front of the National Assembly, at the call of their unions. They thus intend to express their “fed up and their anger” and to make the deputies understand that they must “make things happen”, explains Frédéric Lagache, general delegate of the Alliance union.
“It is a political message, we need strong legislative measures which help us to carry out our missions on the ground”, adds Linda Kebbab, national secretary of the union SGP police-FO unit. “It is a call to parliamentarians, a way of saying to them: ‘You have been elected, the people expect you to take measures and that you vote them.” “
“Divergence at the top of the state”
The protesters are expected to be joined by many politicians, both right and left. More surprising is the arrival of the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, never lacking a media presence. The Minister of the Interior “will go and greet the police at the start of the demonstration”, we are told on Place Beauvau. “This is a testimony of support for the police officers who have counted two tragedies in the space of 15 days, in addition to the daily injuries that they count in their ranks. By conviction, the Minister of the Interior is on the side of the police. But his presence is already raising a number of questions, both within the ranks of trade unions and those of political leaders.
“It’s complicated,” says Frédéric Lagache. According to him, the arrival of the minister “reveals a certain divergence at the highest point of the state”. “This means that he disagrees with the government’s position, since we are calling for the establishment of minimum sentences [à l’encontre des agresseurs de policiers], refused by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, continues the trade unionist. When it comes to this mobilization, it is to support the police and gendarmes, but also our demands. This means that he disagrees with his government. Gérald Darmanin, who has continued to dredge heavily on the unions since his appointment, wouldn’t he do a little too much?
“He will not have a preferential regime”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the intersyndicale distanced itself from the Minister of the Interior and stressed that “this gathering will not be the platform of any party or any member of the government”. Before adding: “No one will confiscate the word of the police or citizens. “Gérald Darmanin” will not be able to take the stand, no politician will take the microphone to speak on behalf of his party or on behalf of the government, “says Frédéric Lagache.
The minister “is a citizen like any other, he will not have a preferential regime,” adds Linda Kebbab. “The platform is reserved for unions. If he wants to come, that’s fine. On the other hand, no coup de com ‘. This must not serve his policy, he must come and hear us and hear the people. He must not tell us “I understand you” and do nothing behind it. “
“Its role is to act, not to demonstrate”
The participation of Gérald Darmanin also causes a stir in the opposition. “It is intolerable that a Minister of the Interior participates in a demonstration of pressure on the National Assembly in defiance of the separation of powers”, blasted on Twitter the deputy LFI of North Ugo Bernalicis. The LR mayor of Touquet-Paris-Plage and former deputy Daniel Fasquelle, sees his presence as “a great first in the Fifth Republic”. “A minister will march against himself,” he also writes on the social network.
“This is the first time that we have seen a Minister of the Interior demonstrate against his own inaction”, railed on Europe 1 MEP LR François-Xavier Bellamy. For the president of the LR group in the National Assembly, Damien Abad, this is an “admission of helplessness”. “Its role is to act, not to demonstrate. “Asked about Sud Radio, the president of the UDI, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, is not“ convinced that the place of a minister is in a demonstration ”.