Le Figaro Bordeaux
Return to the starting point for the Bordeaux equestrian brigade.
Founded in 1987, the municipal police unit was installed at the Ferme Fourcade in Bruges (Gironde) by the then mayor, Jacques Chaban-Delmas.
Seven years after their departure for Saint-André-de-Cubzac (Gironde), the police are returning to their historic stables.
"
At the time, it was a disused barn
," recalls Jean-Denis Dubois, who still owns the premises.
The breeder of organic Limousin cattle has agreed to feed the three horses on weekends.
"
We exercise surveillance by our constant presence on the farm, it's very practical
", underlines the sexagenarian, who signed this lease after a call for tenders and two years of negotiations.
For Chief Sergeant Christophe Mirebeau too, it's time for joy.
This relocation to less than 4 kilometers from the Bordeaux Exhibition Center making it possible to reach the city center on horseback, the officer now saves himself "
an hour's drive
" before each patrol.
Accustomed to the place since 1997, when he joined this training after a diploma at the School of horse racing in Mont-de-Marsan (Landes), the policeman commands three agents whose presence on the territory will increase.
"More blue in the street" in Bordeaux
A proximity precisely desired by the City of Bordeaux.
"
Our policy boils down to
'
more blue in the street
'", specifies the security assistant, Amine Smihi, in an Elysian formula.
In an exclusive interview published by
Le
Figaro
on April 21, 2021, Emmanuel Macron indeed mentioned the police, declaring that “
every
Frenchman will see more blue on the ground in 2022 than in 2017.
According to the elected official, the restoration of the equestrian brigade meets a dual objective.
On the one hand, it provides “
prevention through its reassuring and dissuasive presence
” between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on the beach at Bordeaux Lac, the quays of the Garonne, the Bordeaux park and in the public garden.
On the other hand, the benevolence aroused by the horses "
helps to rebuild the bond of trust between the police and the population
".
Police forces whose purpose is not to “
show off
”.
Between September and December 2022, this equestrian brigade fined 66 people in 58 outings.
In Bordeaux, the municipal police have also had a mountain bike brigade since 2021. They will induct a canine unit delegated to night surveillance by the end of 2022.
