Grigny, Villeneuve-la-Garenne ... "The traffickers want to eliminate any police presence"

Linda Kebbab is the national delegate of the SGP Police-FO Unit.

FIGAROVOX.- Clashes opposed gangs of young people to the police this weekend, in Grigny, in Villeneuve-la-Garenne ... Does confinement stir up violence in certain neighborhoods?

Linda KEBBAB.- In reality, confinement only exacerbates situations which unfortunately also exist the rest of the year, because these districts are regularly the scene of urban violence. Only the health crisis awakens and excites the worst in these territories, and indeed fuels latent tensions, which incubate most of the time and sometimes explode. But the problem is not cyclical: it is a fundamental problem.

So there is currently a resurgence of violence. On the night of Sunday to Monday, 13 two-wheeled vehicles were set on fire in Meudon - a usually fairly quiet town. There have been ambushes here and there against the police, as in 91 where the police received a bogus call for help and were attacked once they got there. Unfortunately, they are already used to these kinds of traps.

Finally, false rumors spread on social networks are circulating to unleash violence against the police. In Villeneuve-la-Garenne on Saturday evening, some initially claimed that the police had deliberately injured a young man by opening the door of their vehicle. In reality, an unmarked police car (this is a request from the hierarchy: in some places, it is recommended not to circulate in screen-printed vehicles so as not to "provoke" the offenders ...) intervened at the request of the inhabitants, exasperated by the noise of the night caused by a motocross. The colleagues went there without much conviction, knowing that it would in any case be very difficult to put an end to the noise pollution. When the driver of the motorcycle, who was riding without a helmet and was already known to the police, crossed their path, they were stopped at a red light and the police officer in the passenger seat went down to the sidewalk, but the motorcycle wanted to force the passage of the red light by doubling the vehicle by the right. The investigation will in all probability reveal that there was therefore no "blunder" as some have claimed on social networks. Subsequently, it should be noted that the police were subjected to threats and intimidation, and that their faces were circulated in photos on the Internet, accompanied by calls to murder. The only purpose of this false information is to stir up violence against the police.

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What are the perpetrators of this violence looking for?

Confinement particularly jeopardizes drug trafficking, because supplying dealers is made more difficult by border controls and customers venture less than before into the neighborhoods to come and get their supplies. The traffickers are therefore on the tooth, and they intend to send a strong message to reclaim control of certain districts and thus reassure their customers. Their goal is to eliminate any police presence in these areas in order to continue to conduct their activities without being hindered in their business. Thus, the slightest patrol of the police can be the object of attacks, and this weekend several of them were hit by mortar. It's like a game: each police officer can become a target at any time.

However, the police are deployed more than usual because their mission is to ensure strict compliance with the confinement rules. For offenders, who know they are guilty, this presence is seen as an unacceptable threat.

What are the instructions of the police hierarchy in the face of non-compliance with the rules and the pursuit of this traffic?

The hierarchy, certainly political, is very cautious and encourages colleagues to avoid patrolling in certain neighborhoods, in Nanterre for example, or in other places. They are also recommended to use unmarked cars. But most of the police refuse to abandon these territories to their fate, because the first victims are the inhabitants: they are the ones who suffer from non-compliance with health rules and thus see their health endangered. We cannot bring ourselves to allow such inequality to flourish: the French all have the same right to be protected and to have their security guaranteed by the police.

Do you think that the police lack the means to ensure everyone's safety?

It is the State which does not grant enough means! The police do what they can with what they have. But it is certain that the workforce is too small in certain places and the use of weapons is so risky for the police, so much the controversies fueled by false rumors are rife on social networks, that it is sometimes extremely difficult to intervene.

But colleagues have accepted this heavy mission, which is to help citizens as best they can and ensure equality between territories at all costs, despite the cruel lack of human, material and political resources. The objectives for which they are committed should not remain wishful thinking.