As the regional and departmental elections loom, bad news has just fallen in the fight against abstention in Villeneuve-le-Roi.
The government, via the prefecture of Val-de-Marne, has just banned national police officers from registering proxies during their two weekly shifts in the municipal police station.
More precisely, it decided not to renew the exemption which had authorized this device for years.
"This derogation was going in the right direction"
The mayor, Didier Gonzales (LR), candidate for departmental in the canton of Orly, is stunned by this "technocratic" position, which he considers remote from the realities and needs of the field. “It was very practical for the inhabitants of Villeneuve and Ablon-sur-Seine, for example. It was near their home, in a place on a human scale, with a pleasant and serene welcome. From now on, they will have to go to the Choisy-le-Roi or Villeneuve-Saint-Georges police station, two areas where it is extremely complicated to park. "
The elected representative wonders what has changed for the prefecture of Val-de-Marne to suddenly change gear: "This exemption was nevertheless going in the right direction to fight against abstention in elections, to avoid too large groupings of people in polling stations, etc.
If again this accompanied the abolition of the national police on-call, I would understand the logic of the state's reasoning.
But this escapes me.
We host these hotlines precisely to respond to a specific Villeneuve region, to the interest observed in doing decentralized operations there.
"" We are only applying the instructions, "replied the prefecture soberly.
"Refocus the police on their job", justifies Schiappa
The controversy quickly grew. The assembly of mayors of Val-de-Marne wrote to the prefect Sophie Thibault. The subject has even just reached the gilding of the Senate: Catherine Procaccia, Senator LR from Val-de-Marne, questioned the government during topical issues on June 2: "How can you say that you encourage the French to vote and , at the same time, remove the places in which everything would go well? », She concludes.
It was Marlène Schiappa, Minister Delegate for Citizenship and head of the Parisian list in the regional elections, who replied: "This instruction was given" to go "in the direction of a constant process of lightening the burden of agents.
We want national police officers to be able to refocus on their profession.
"She recalls that for" those who have valid reasons for not moving (illness, disability, etc.), the police continue to move throughout the country.
"
Didier Gonzales chokes: "If the State wants to refocus the police on their job, be consistent and the police completely stop voting proxies!"
".
