Less than two months before the presidential election for which Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region, is a candidate, the State is tackling two emblematic regional measures: the financing of municipal police and security brigades for high schools.
The regional prefect sent Valérie Pécresse a gracious appeal on January 18, asking her to cancel three deliberations dating from 2017 and 2021 and relating to the "security shield" that she has been developing since her first election at the end of 2015, according to the AFP.
“No text can legally establish the subsidization by the regional council of municipal police equipment”, writes Marc Guillaume who recalls that “jurisdiction in matters of public order” belongs “to the mayor and to the prefect of the department”.
The PCF and France Insoumise had requested a review of legality
“The regional council is therefore incompetent to grant this type of subsidy”, further affirms the representative of the State, basing himself on a case law of the administrative court of Marseille, which ruled in 2019 that the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d region 'Azur "did not have jurisdiction to subsidize the municipal police in its region".
Mr. Guillaume also scratches the regional security brigades (BRS), these agents divided into groups of 5 to secure the interior and the surroundings of the Ile-de-France high schools, for which "the legal basis for funding (…) is also lacking " .
A reproach already formulated by the Regional Chamber of Accounts (CRC) which had considered that these brigades had "no legal basis".
This gracious appeal follows several referrals under the legality control of the opposition groups PCF and LFI.
This Wednesday evening, the regional majority was to vote on a motion from the executive to defend these two actions.
“We are surprised that, a few weeks before national elections, the regional prefect suddenly takes an initiative aimed at calling into question the security shield, after 6 years of application of this policy and 27 deliberations submitted to his control, all validated, and while recent agreements have been signed with the prefect of police” explains this motion.
The regional executive reaffirms itself "competent"
The regional executive takes stock of its action by ensuring that it has financed for the municipal police 379 cars, 1,277 bullet-proof vests, 1,075 radios, for 400 municipalities for a total amount of 7.88 million euros and to finance the installation of more than 8,000 CCTV cameras in 458 municipalities.
It also notes that, since 2016 and the establishment of the security shield, "the regional prefecture has not made any observation under the control of legality during the transmission of the 27 deliberations implementing regional support under the security shield”.
But it is the arming of these police officers that poses a problem for the prefect.
Regarding the security brigades, the regional executive first draws up an assessment: “Since their creation, the BRS have carried out nearly 1,400 interventions, each time at the express request of the principals”.
The majority also recalls that the former regional prefect, Michel Cadot, had, in 2019, "requested the transmission of useful elements concerning the brigades and that the region's response had not prompted or requested additional elements".
The arm wrestling is therefore engaged since the motion "reaffirms that the region is competent to subsidize the municipal police on the Ile-de-France territory and to act for safety in high schools thanks to the action of the regional security brigades".
