In their little voices, they speak of “shit”, “checks”, or “custody”. At 13 or 14 years old, these 4th year students from Stendhal college, in the Nantes Nord district subject to drug trafficking, have plenty of things to say about the police, even if most never have there. been directly confronted. This Friday morning, these teenagers, still children for some, were able to change (or not) their opinion about the personnel in uniforms often seen as “bad guys”, according to a young girl, sitting at the back of the class.
In front of about twenty schoolchildren, two police officers, two TAN controllers and a firefighter came to lead a discussion workshop in an attempt to “deconstruct an often false image,” said Major Anthony Glotain, one of the speakers. After a quick presentation of their missions and their equipment, a great deal of room is left for questions, between ignorance and mistrust. “Sometimes you control people because they are dressed in Lacoste…”, assures the same young lady. “Why are you always dressed like the SWAT [la police d’élite américaine] ? Asks a boy, who makes the assembly laugh. “The bulletproof vest is compulsory on public roads, sometimes it is supplemented with a tactical vest, with plenty of pockets,” replied a policeman. As for the gun, personally, I never had to use it! “
“We remain humans”
For the TAN controllers, who “make you stressful when you see them”, it’s not easy to explain why you have to stamp your ticket each time you climb … “A transport ticket is a bit like your liaison book, go ahead. Bertrand Deborde, controller. We are not here to annoy you, but we are still more serene when we are in good standing, right? Validating your ticket also allows you to pay for the equipment, the drivers… Moreover, we also pay a subscription! “
Getting down to their level, revealing their difficulties, seems the means chosen to make these young people think. “Verbal violence is very exhausting,” TAN agents continue. Can you imagine if your parents were insulted all day? We remain humans behind our uniforms. “” We do not do everything out of gaiety of heart, also explain the police officers. When you stop someone who steals because they cannot afford to eat, it is very sad. When we also have to expel a family… but enforcing a court decision is our job. “
“There to help us, not just to disturb us”
The students seem less suspicious during the exchange with the firefighter, who nevertheless reports a difficult daily life in the neighborhood. “In recent years, we have felt a violence against us that we do not understand, testifies this officer of the Nantes North rescue center. There is less and less respect, as with these people who come in front of us to film, to such an extent that we cannot do our work when there is sometimes an emergency! “
After an hour and a half, it is difficult to know if the intervention has convinced. In any case, the head of the establishment intends to repeat the experience next year. “Now, we know that they are there to help us, and not just to disturb us”, estimates a student, who admits to having taken the habit of “running” when she sees a police officer. “I have the impression that they are just trying to make a good impression, judges one of his comrades. Insults, we also attack the college! That’s life, you just have to forget about them. “