It sparked strong protests, led to large demonstrations and was even the source of a political crisis between the executive and Parliament… before being de facto suspended.
We are talking about article 24 of the bill relating to global security, brought by LREM deputies Alice Thourot and Jean-Michel Fauvergue, also former boss of the Raid.
This text, tabled in early November, contains a total of 32 articles.
The 24th aims to better protect the police in the event of the dissemination of images concerning them, argue its promoters.
Conversely, his opponents see it as a “liberticidal” provision which would prevent police and gendarmes from filming during security interventions.
To appease these tensions, the presidents of groups forming the majority in the National Assembly announced this Monday afternoon a “new writing” to come of article 24. We explain everything to you.
What does the initial text say?
Article 24 consists of two paragraphs.
In its initial version, the first of them provided as follows: "Is punished by one year of imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros for broadcasting, by whatever means and whatever the support, with the aim of harming his physical or mental integrity, the image of the face or any other element of identification of an agent of the national police or the national gendarmerie other than his identification number individual when acting in the context of a police operation.
".
The second paragraph stipulates that the law on freedom of the press "does not prevent the communication to the competent administrative and judicial authorities, within the framework of the procedures which they initiate, of images and elements of identification of an official of the national police or a soldier of the national gendarmerie ”.
Clearly, the goal is to better protect the police when they carry out their missions, as the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin regularly insists.
So a person who films an agent and disseminates the footage on social media with an insulting message or a call to violence, for example, could be prosecuted and then sentenced.
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Security Law, police violence ... the week that tripped Gerald Darmanin
Conversely, many journalists and associations saw it as a “liberticidal” provision.
"What is targeted is the possibility of filming police violence and it is an attack on public freedoms", thunders the journalist and documentary filmmaker David Dufresne, who has specialized for several years in the denunciation of this kind of acts.
“These videos have been and are very useful to us when there are slippages by the security forces.
For our population to regain confidence in our police, it is necessary that when there is a slippage, we recognize it and that there is a sanction ”, also estimated the Defender of rights, Claire Hédon, on November 20 on BFMTV .
What changed ?
On November 19, in an attempt to allay concerns, the government tabled an amendment modifying certain formulations of article 24. The aim was "to demonstrate that this new offense does not infringe the right to inform and that 'it is only constituted if the aim of harming physical and mental integrity is manifest,' we read in the text.
Thus, the notion "Without prejudice to the right to inform" appeared at the very beginning of the first paragraph.
The words “for the purpose of infringement” in the original wording became “for the clear purpose of infringement” in the amended version.
Finally, even if this does not directly respond to the fears expressed, municipal police officers are appearing alongside national police officers and gendarmes among the “protected” personnel.
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But these changes did not reassure the coalition of opponents.
"
Manifesto
, what does that mean?"
asks David Dufresne.
This does not take away from the vagueness ”.
"The first version was problematic, the second is less so even if there is always a problem concerning the intentionality of the offense because the word
manifest
is not easy to interpret in law", abounds the lawyer Serge Slama, from the University of Grenoble-Alpes.
The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti himself recalled it on BFMTV on November 22: “We cannot sue people for an intention.
"
Éric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) on the "global security" law: "In French criminal law, we cannot prosecute people for an intention but for an act or for a fact" pic.twitter.com/6cYslltfJO
- BFM Politics (@BFMPolitique) November 22, 2020
Thursday, November 26, Jean Castex then announced that an independent commission was going to look at this article 24 to rewrite it… before back-pedaling 24 hours later.
In the meantime, the President of the National Assembly and that of the Senate as well as many elected members of the majority were angry against an attack on their prerogatives.
What will happen now?
All these concerns have led to strong demonstrations in the streets.
Saturday, November 28, between 135,000 and 500,000 people demonstrated throughout France, according to the Ministry of the Interior or according to the organizers.
Many, many people.
Bastille in sight after two hours of walking.
Live #MarcheDesLibertes #StopLoiSecuriteGlobale in Paris.
More than 100 gatherings all over France also https://t.co/qrrzpI35Jz pic.twitter.com/aCgTkD9B0a
- David Dufresne (@davduf) November 28, 2020
This Monday afternoon, the president of the LREM parliamentary group in the National Assembly, Christophe Castaner, finally announced that the majority would "propose a complete new writing of article 24".
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Global Security Law: LREM deputy Pierre Person "wants article 24 to be deleted"
The predecessor of Gérald Darmanin Place Beauvau added that he wanted to "discuss the legislative vehicle and the timetable", without specifying whether the rewritten article 24 will remain in the bill on comprehensive security or if it will be included in another. text.
Some elected officials are pleading to go through the bill on separatism, which will be presented to the Council of Ministers in December and whose article 25 provides for prohibiting the publication of personal information of an individual if the aim is to harm him .
One thing is certain: the National Assembly has already adopted at first reading the proposal for a comprehensive security law, which must now be examined in the Senate in early 2021. The Constitutional Council will also examine it.
Insufficient for several political opponents, like the deputy La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who demand the total withdrawal of the text.
Proposal for an effective rewrite of article 24: “the comprehensive security law is repealed”.
Enough procrastination.
We must stop the drift towards authoritarianism in all its aspects.
#StopLoiSecuriteGlobale # Article24
- Jean-Luc Mélenchon (@JLMelenchon) November 30, 2020
