Le Figaro Bordeaux
No more
“blue”
in the streets.
An expression used by both Emmanuel Macron, Gérald Darmanin and... Pierre Hurmic, the environmentalist mayor of Bordeaux.
Elected in 2020, the councilor has never hidden his desire to strengthen the police presence on the ground, to maintain order and fight against incivility.
Three years later, environmentalists boast of an unprecedented increase in municipal police numbers and continue to recruit.
Figures, however, contested by the Macronist opposition.
“By blaming others, Pierre Hurmic has made Bordeaux a national exception in terms of security
,” says the Renouveau Bordeaux group, chaired by Thomas Cazenave, on X (ex-Twitter).
The opposition group highlights, by comparing to other cities, that there would be 13 fewer municipal police officers in Bordeaux in 2022 compared to 2021. Figures from freely accessible data from the Ministry of the Interior , but which would come from a communication error, according to the town hall.
“We are not going to disguise the figures”
“We went back internally and realized that the figures transmitted to the prefecture were not consolidated
,” explains Marc Etcheverry, deputy mayor in charge of security, crime prevention and mediation.
According to “reconsolidated and verified”
data
, the municipal police of Bordeaux actually included 170 municipal police officers in its workforce in 2023, compared to 163 in 2022 and 154 in 2021. In 2024, this figure should also continue to increase, says the city from Bordeaux.
“Ten more police officers per year is the ambition carried by Pierre Hurmic”
for the coming years, explains Marc Etcheverry, specifying that this is ten
“net”
recruitments , taking departures into account.
“We are not going to disguise the figures, ten more police officers are what is needed to cover the needs.”
The elected official, who officially took office at the end of January, after the death of his predecessor, Amine Smihi, wants to
“make the municipal police of Bordeaux more attractive”
, because its missions are
“increasingly important”
.
Number of municipal agents in Bordeaux (town hall source) |
||
Year |
Police officers |
ASVP |
2023 |
170 |
51 |
2022 |
163 |
46 |
2021 |
154 |
45 |
2020 |
135 |
50 |
The municipal police, however, are not there to
“replace the national police, which have a role of maintaining order and securing property and people”
, recalls the elected official, but to ensure public tranquility and fight against incivility.
As the new
“groomed”
title of his function specifies, Marc Etcheverry is now also responsible for mediation.
The majority aims to recruit new mediators, so that they are present in all neighborhoods and can defuse conflict situations,
“before bringing in the municipal police”
.
Also read Vegetation, safety, cleanliness... What conclusions can be drawn three years after the arrival of environmentalists in Bordeaux?
The right wants to arm municipal police
The city also intends to develop the
“proximity”
of its agents with residents, by ensuring
“that police officers come into contact with local residents, that they get out of cars, that there are more foot and mountain bike patrols »
, in order to
“reassure”
the people of Bordeaux.
Against incivility, a brigade should soon be deployed, in order to
“sanction the individualistic and selfish behavior of some, which degrades the living environment of everyone”
, adds the elected official responsible for security.
Despite these announcements, criticism of the environmentalist majority remains strong.
The signing of an integrated security contract (CSI) is long overdue because the city is requesting significant financial support from the State, by committing to install 20 new video surveillance cameras per year, in addition to ten new municipal police positions per year.
A financial distribution which does not seem to suit state services.
According to Renouveau Bordeaux, the signing of this document is
“put on hold because Pierre Hurmic is demanding a Bordeaux exception for covering part of the cost of surveillance cameras”
.
Very critical of the actions of environmentalists in terms of security and cleanliness, the right and center group Bordeaux Ensemble, chaired by the former mayor of Bordeaux Nicolas Florian, advocates arming the municipal police.
As the 2026 elections draw closer, the subject of security in Bordeaux promises to become more and more significant.