It is a gathering heavy with meaning, two weeks after the murder of Brigadier Eric Masson in Avignon and with the approach of important electoral deadlines.
This Wednesday, unanimous unions, thousands of police officers but also the Minister of the Interior and policies of all stripes are expected in front of the National Assembly.
Also read Darmanin at the police demonstration: "A way of telling them that I love them and that I support them"
Trade unions hope to bring together 30,000 people.
"Everyone is free to participate", but "no politician will be able to access the platform or speak there," they said in a joint statement.
"It's my job, my way of supporting them, to be with them," says Darmanin.
Thus, even Gérald Darmanin went there, shortly before 1 p.m., a first in police memory for a Minister of the Interior, which earned him strong criticism from the opposition.
The Minister took the opportunity to discuss with several officials on the spot.
“You send wood!
», Congratulated one of them.
"Like all French people, I came to support the police, that's all," said Gerald Darmanin only in the middle of the crowd.
Police demonstration: Gérald Darmanin arrives on site pic.twitter.com/gweMrnN472
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 19, 2021
"I bring my support to the police and gendarmes every day since I was Minister of the Interior and even before, as mayor of Tourcoing, he explained this Wednesday on France Inter.
I had the opportunity to see that these are courageous people, […] who are particularly the victims of an increasingly violent society ”.
According to the minister, who mentions the “two assassinations” of Stéphanie Montfeture in Rambouillet and Eric Masson in Avignon, the police “are marked by mourning, emotion and anger.
“I'm going to tell them that we love them,” he also proclaimed, adding: “It's my job, my job, my way of supporting them to be with them”.
"Paid to serve, not to die"
A banner is displayed on the podium where the police unions will speak shortly #ManifPolice @BFMTV pic.twitter.com/QBhBGDNAfw
- David Unal (@david_unal) May 19, 2021
Before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, the first demonstrators gathered in front of the National Assembly.
The trade unions have erected a podium, where several non-political interlocutors will follow one another, in front of a large banner on which is affixed the inscription "Paid to serve, not to die".
Shortly before 1 p.m., the crowd had grown considerably, with many union flags flying in the middle.
Unions demand "the implementation of minimum sentences"
The unions have decided to organize this rally two weeks to the day after the murder of Eric Masson, killed at a deal point in Avignon.
A drama that shook the police, already marked by the assassination on April 23 of Stéphanie Monfeture, administrative agent at the Rambouillet police station (Yvelines), by a Tunisian who would have become radicalized.
According to union officials, many “angry” and “disgusted” police officers see the death of the sergeant during this banal intervention a symbol of repeated violence against them, which requires a more firm “criminal response”.
From Avignon, the government has already given pledges to the unions, received on May 10 in Matignon.
Prime Minister Jean Castex has notably committed to extending the safety period to thirty years for people sentenced to life imprisonment for a crime against a police officer or a gendarme.
And to strictly limit the possibilities of reducing sentences for those who attack the police.
But the unions deplore that their "most important demand", "the implementation of minimum sentences" (also called floor sentences) for "attackers of the police", has not been "taken into account" .