Matthieu Valet is spokesperson for the independent union of police commissioners.
LE FIGARO. -On Tuesday, a 17-year-old was killed by a police officer after refusing a police check in Nanterre. What lessons can be drawn from this tragedy?
Matthieu Valet. – At the closing of the Beauvau de la sécurité in 2021, Emmanuel Macron promised that half of the working time of police officers would be devoted to their training. The account is still not there. Training time, which is essential if we want well-prepared and efficient police officers, is sacrificed on the altar of operational needs. The training of law enforcement is more than necessary because of the difficulty of the situations that police officers encounter more and more frequently.
Article 435-1 of the Internal Security Code on the use of weapons in the context of refusals to comply is problematic. Its wording is not clear enough for the police officer to be able to appreciate all the parameters he requires to use his weapon in a tenth of a second. The objective of the police officer in this type of situation is to be able to protect his life and that of individuals nearby.
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Is a game justified in this type of circumstance? Don't the police have other means to neutralize offenders effectively?
Despite partial information, it seems that there was a refusal to comply by the driver of the vehicle with the two bikers. They wanted to control him after traffic violations. The density of traffic forced the vehicle to stop. The police took the opportunity to set foot on the ground. The procedure provides that in the event of danger related to the refusal to comply, the police can put it in play to freeze it and secure the intervention. The driver can restart at any time. One of the police officers present is supposed to make the arrest. On the video, we see that the police officer is in a safe position, in accordance with the training provided.
Refusals to comply have increased markedly. It has become a true national sport. You never know why the individual refused to stop.
Matthew Valet
Why didn't the arrest take place immediately? The investigation will tell. It will clarify the degree of danger of the situation for the police officer and the civilians around. When a police officer pulls out his weapon, it is because he feels that the situation he is facing presents a risk to his life and that of others. In the case of the Nanterre tragedy, it is a cylindrical Mercedes driven by a young man who took all the risks to escape the police. It appears that the driver was about to restart. So the policeman pulled out his gun.
Are refusals to comply on the rise in our country? What for?
Over the past fifteen years, refusals to comply have increased markedly. It has become a true national sport. You never know why the individual refused to stop. Is it because of a previous offence and because the individual is being searched by the police? A burglary, an assault on the public highway, or a transport of narcotics can be at the origin of this passage in force. The difficulty for police officers is to determine the causes.
For a reason, even if trivial, drivers take all the risks; including hitting police officers. In 2020, Eric Monroy at Le Mans was mowed down by a motorist after a refusal to comply. In 2021, Mélanie Lemée, a gendarme near Agen, was dragged under the same conditions. Offenders refuse to be arrested by the police. They no longer fear shattering lives, whether by law enforcement or innocent civilians. This is a serious and more recent phenomenon.
Does the law need to evolve?
Failure to comply theoretically results in a two-year prison sentence. If one or more lives have been endangered, the law provides for five years' imprisonment. We note that the criminal response is not at all a deterrent. Few offenders go to jail after refusing to comply. The absence of firm criminal responses has trivialized the refusal to comply. It is at the origin of this increase in refusals to comply since individuals do not risk much.
The memory of Nahel and the search for the truth do not interest the rioters. It is a pretext to sow chaos.
Matthew Valet
Several personalities such as Kylian Mbappé, Jules Koundé or actors Omar Sy have given their support to the victim. How to interpret the excitement that this type of case arouses in many celebrities, compared to other dramas?
There is a real double standard. Some lives are considered more important than others. However, any life lost is an absolute tragedy for the victims' entourage, whether it is a police officer or a 17-year-old. It is clear that the death of police officers does not cause the same stir as the victim of Nanterre. However, it is unbearable that celebrities from the world of cinema or sport make a hierarchy of lives in French society.
The death of this young man led to violence in Nanterre and elsewhere. Why have cities gone up in flames after events of this type since the riots of 2005?
Some claim that the policeman executed a 17-year-old, that "the death penalty has been resurrected" and that it would be a "murder" or an "assassination". These are very serious charges. No conclusions have been made by independent judges, Once again, the presumption of innocence is forgotten. Some elected officials continue to add fuel to the fire. We should therefore not be surprised by the violence. In Mantes-la-Jolie, an annex of the town hall was burned. In Nanterre, school groups were targeted. There is no justification for this violence. The memory of Nahel and the search for the truth do not interest the rioters. It is a pretext to sow chaos.
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Last night, they wanted to create chaos in the cities. We must salute the courage and action of my colleagues who made it possible to carry out some thirty inquiries. Justice goes to the courts, not to the streets. Those who want to impose the law of retaliation are those who reject the rule of law. Political leaders must call for a return to calm as soon as possible.