Several hundred police gathered on Tuesday in front of the courts of various cities in France, at the appeal of police unions outraged by the verdict of the trial of the attack on the police in Viry-Châtillon this weekend.
In Paris, 200 to 300 civil servants gathered in peace at 12:30 p.m., waving the flags of the main peacekeepers 'unions, Alliance, SGP Police Unit, Unsa Police and the Synergie officers' union, noted journalists from the 'AFP.
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“
Your security comes at a price.
We are waiting for protection and recognition
”or“
Police attacked, citizens in danger
”, could be read on the banners.
By this call for rallies throughout France, the unions intended to protest against the acquittal on appeal, on the night from Saturday to Sunday, of eight of the 13 young people accused of having attacked and burned police officers in Viry-Châtillon (Essonne) in 2016. The Paris Assize Court for minors sentenced the other five to terms ranging from 6 to 18 years' imprisonment.
The accused faced life imprisonment.
This verdict, less severe than at first instance, provoked the ire of the unions.
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"
We are here to express our incomprehension in the face of the verdict,
" Olivier Hourcau, deputy secretary general of Alliance, organizer of the Paris rally, told AFP.
“
It's a very bad signal sent to the police.
We trivialize attacks against them
”.
“
We need minimum and immediate sentences for police attackers.
Too often they are arrested and released, it gives them a feeling of impunity,
”criticized Rocco Contento, spokesperson for SGP-Police Unit for Île-de-France.
The gathering of police officers this Tuesday, April 20 in Paris.
Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
Police officers denounce the "
complacency
" of Justice
Gatherings of several dozen police officers also took place in other towns.
In Montpellier, they were stationed in front of the judicial court, wearing blue white red stickers "
Police officers - Paid to serve, not to die
" and supported by some elected RNs, including the mayor of Beaucaire (Gard) Julien Sanchez.
Other gatherings also took place in Lille, Rennes, Toulouse or Orléans.
But also in Lyon, where there were more than a hundred before the court.
On a poster, police officers denounced a Justice "
Blind, Complaisant, Absente, Bâclée
" (using the acronym ACAB of insulting the
police
).
A poster of the police gathered in Lyon this Tuesday, April 20.
JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK / AFP
“
10,000 more police officers is an encouraging signal.
But it is not worth putting blue on the ground if the police do not have the means to work, and that behind, the justice does not respond, with weak responses
, ”said Franck Rovira in Montpellier, departmental secretary Alliance Police Nationale des Pyrénées-Orientales, echoing President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the city the day before.
To read also: Police officers burned in Viry-Châtillon: "This verdict is a judicial shipwreck"
“
This verdict was a trigger, in a complicated context where violence against the police is almost daily. With such decisions, it is increasingly difficult to find meaning in our profession,
”explained Pierre Tholly, union secretary in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes of the Alliance union. "
If the penalties established in the Penal Code are not applied, we will end up with a population that fears neither the police nor the justice system,
" said Audrey Colin, union delegate for Occitanie, at the meeting. a rally in Toulouse. In the morning, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announced on RTL that he would receive the police officers injured in 2016 on Saturday but argued that “
do not support demonstrations in front of institutions
”.