Confinement: abusive verbalizations and punished law enforcement

Fines for buying bread, monthly protections or even for riding a bicycle. In recent weeks, testimonies of verbalizations deemed to be abusive follow one another in the media and on social networks. And sometimes, police checks take an even more dramatic note.

Two testimonies notably sparked outrage two days ago. In the Tarn, a septuagenarian who was fined for wanting to greet her husband through the EHPAD window where he lives. At the same time, a resident of Loire-et-Cher is fined on the Ile de Ré and is The gendarmerie "regrets" the verbalization of a man wanting to visit his dying father. The latter, alas, died on Wednesday.

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Abuse of power ? Failure to understand the rules in force? Magnifying glass effect? Isolated cases or not, these excessive fines, which sometimes turn into human drama, are in any case revealing a real gap between the directives taken in emergencies by the government to establish confinement, and the difficult work of appreciation, on the field, by the police.

Joined by Le Figaro, the gendarmerie forces are perfectly aware of the two cases of abusive verbalizations reported in the Tarn and on the Ile de Ré. In the case of the EHPAD, we recognize a real error of appreciation: “the gendarmes thought of a place at risk and verbalized at first , we explain to the national gendarmerie. But they quickly realized that an educational reminder would have been humanly sufficient. The gendarmes immediately called the family to admit that it had been excessive. They have dealt with local judicial authorities who have asked the Crown to set aside the ticket. ”

Ability to prove good faith

In the case of the Ile de Ré, the national gendarmerie emphasizes that the local situation was more complex to assess for the Marshal of the accommodation in question, taking into account the place in question and the period: “The Ile de Ré is a attractive territory. Especially with the Easter weekend and the good weather, there was an increase in traffic on the island and in agreement with the prefecture, we received firmness instructions issued by the government. ”

Read also: The gendarmerie "regrets" the verbalization of a man wanting to visit his dying father

Consequently, “the gendarme was in the letter” of the instructions received. In this case, according to the national gendarmerie, a "footnote" , on the derogatory exit certificate, specifies that people benefiting from one of the exceptions to confinement must "bring (....) a document allowing them to justify that the displacement considered falls within the scope of one of these exceptions ” . In strict application of the rules, the inhabitant of the Loir-et-Cher verbalized should therefore, as a precaution, have a "medical certificate" in addition to the usual certificate.

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According to his testimony gathered by France Inter, the man however called his father's doctor, in vain. On the gendarmerie side, it is argued that the inhabitant's calls to the town hall and the prefecture would also have dissuaded him from traveling on the Île de Ré. Nevertheless, the result of this verbalization is that the man could not kiss his father one last time before his death. "This remains a tragedy for us," said one to the national gendarmerie.

While also judging this excessive verbalization - "an obvious lack of discernment" -, the divisional commissioner David Le Bars, general secretary of the union of the commissioners of the national police, reminds that in case of "imperative family necessity", it is worth better be able to "prove your good faith" : "for childcare, this can be an exchange of e-mail between the father and the mother, for example. You can always have a document with you that carries the officer's conviction. ”

Discernment and humanity

Captain Marc Rollang, spokesperson for the national military professional association "Gendarmes et citizens" is however more severe towards his colleague: "this comrade lacked accuracy of analysis, he could have asked the opinion of a colleague or of a chief ” , all the more since the arguments of this man “ had been heard ” by other gendarmes during a first check at the exit of the highway.

On Twitter, the Union of National Police Commissioners also severely judged the case of Île-de-Ré and the EHPAD in Tarn.

"The agents, gendarmes and police officers, must guard humanity vis-à-vis the people we have in front of us , " said Commissioner David Le Bars. “As we enter a new phase of confinement, people are exasperated, some feel bad. We have to show all the more humanity , insists the policeman. Of course, there may be liars who seek to arouse emotion, but doubt must benefit them. On the other hand, those who barbecues or who wander in groups of twenty, those, we should not give them gifts. ”

As we enter a new phase of confinement, people are exasperated. We have to show all the more humanity. On the other hand, those who make barbecues, those, we should not give them gifts!

The police superintendent takes the opportunity to remove certain doubts about the exceptions concerning confinement: "cycling is not prohibited, it is part of physical activity within a radius of 1km near the home and 1h maximum. We also have the right to go and buy our bread by bike! Similarly, there is no time limit for going shopping, especially if there are three quarters of an hour at the checkout. Finally, what is not specified is not prohibited! We don't have to interpret the law. We are already in a period of restriction of freedoms. It is the judge who will interpret the law! ” .

We have the right to go and buy our bread by bike! Similarly, there is no time limit to go shopping, especially if there is a queue at the checkout. We don't have to interpret the law. We are already in a period of restriction of freedoms. It is the judge who will interpret the law!

A legal first and a lack of perspective

It is up to the judge to interpret the law: there may be the whole question in these difficulties in understanding and appreciating the rules of confinement, both on the part of the citizens and among the police. "The speed of the legal assembly did not allow the various actors, police, municipal police, gendarmes to apprehend with the necessary rigor the elements to carry out the fines of non-compliance with confinement" , deplores captain Marc Rollang, of the Gendarmes and citizens association. “It is a disaster: seven reasons for leaving the certificate, which are not always precise, when there is only one in Spain. It is a legal first. Consequently, the citizens have the impression of being in their right, ” abounds David Le Bars.

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In addition to the multiplicity of exceptions that have been added over time, there are territorial disparities in certain rules. Some cities, like Paris, have for example banned running between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. "With the millions of people living on a territory, there are as many millions of particular situations" , one still argues with the national gendarmerie. Those who feel aggrieved are nevertheless invited by the police to "make any appeal to the police court" , recalls Captain Marc Rollang, who believes that "the magistrates of the local courts will easily adhere to the arguments of the litigants " .

It is usually possible to contest an automated ticket (for example, speeding by speed camera) on the site of the National Agency for the Automated Processing of Offenses (Antai) or by post, by writing to Crown officer (mailing address at the bottom right of the first page of the ticket). During the health crisis, the deadline for contesting increased from 45 to 90 days.

But with regard to the circumstances of the control of exits from containment, for example on the behavior of the police or gendarmes, it is preferable to make a report on the platform of IGPN or that of IGGN.

Less than 300 reports on the IGPN

As unfair and dramatic as the situations reported, the national gendarmerie ensures that it is nevertheless a “magnifying glass effect” and that most of the checks are going well. At the Ministry of the Interior, we confirm this assessment: “The French respect confinement well and behave civilly during the checks carried out. There may be difficulties encountered during checks, but no more and no less than usual, before the start of the health crisis. ” These "difficult controls" take place "in sensitive neighborhoods as well as in the rest of the territory." The ministry also reminds citizens to "bring supporting documents when they can (family book, train ticket, proof of a medical appointment, ...) to facilitate checks" .

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In concrete terms, how many reporting cases have nevertheless been officially identified? “There are just under 300 reports that were made on the IGPN platform (general inspection of the national police, Editor's note), only half of which relates to verbalizations, out of the 704,000 verbalizations during the 11 million checks carried out since the beginning of confinement, " reports the Ministry of the Interior, which does not however specify the number of reports recorded on the platform of the national gendarmerie, the IGGN, nor the number of disputes recorded on the site of the ANTAI.