Gérald Darmanin recalled in a note addressed to the prefects as well as those responsible for the police and the gendarmerie the rules for visiting police services by elected officials, after the president of the RN received a medal from a CRS company .
In this telegram dated Wednesday and consulted by AFP, the Minister of the Interior underlines that the
“pre-electoral context linked to the European elections gives rise to an increase in visits by parliamentarians to the police and gendarmerie services as well as to the places of deprivation of liberty
.
“I ask you to exercise discernment
,” he continues.
The minister requested an administrative report on Tuesday the day after the broadcast of a video on Alpes-Maritimes.
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“Error of assessment”
Already on Tuesday, Gérald Darmanin's entourage told AFP that there had been
"obviously an error of judgment when accepting this visit"
by the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, Hugues Moutouh, a close to the minister.
In his telegram, Gérald Darmanin recalls that the visit of the police and gendarmerie services
“is not a right granted to parliamentarians and elected officials”
and that it
“relates to the assessment of the administrative authority, which can 'granted in the name of republican courtesy while respecting ethics and professional secrecy'
.
He insists on the fact that
“any political communication action in the police and gendarmerie services is prohibited”
in the name of the
“principle of neutrality of the public service”
.
Finally, it notes that
“the recording of sound or images in services must be strictly regulated with regard to the requirements of security and confidentiality and cannot in any case concern places of deprivation of liberty”
.
Regarding the latter, he recalls that
“parliamentarians can only be accompanied by journalists holding a professional card, except for visiting police custody premises”
.