The government launched a round of consultation on Friday at the Ministry of Justice intended to redefine the means and prerogatives of some 27,000 municipal police officers spread across 4,500 municipalities in the country.
After the signing of an agreement at the end of March allowing mayors to increase the salaries of their agents, ministers, unions, elected officials and prosecutors began, within the framework of this
“Beauvau des polices municipales”
, to look into the overhaul of the status of these officials. The current status has not changed since a Chevènement law of 1999.
Many issues to decide
Are municipal police
“public peace police”
or
“local judicial police?”
, questioned in the preamble the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, who launched the meeting with his colleagues Gérald Darmanin (Interior), Christophe Béchu (Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion) and Dominique Faure (Territorial Communities). Doctrine of employment, organization, prerogatives, training or equipment, there are numerous issues to be decided.
If there is talk of extending their missions to certain judicial police acts, there is on the other hand
“no question of delegating the work of the national police and the gendarmerie to the municipal police”
, clarified Mr. Darmanin.
“I do not think it is desirable for the municipal police to be able to carry out police custody or carry out investigations
,” he added.
“The municipal police are local police
,” added Serge Haure, federal secretary of Interco CFDT, to AFP.
“Give it judicial powers why not, but the system must be supervised
,” warned the trade unionist. In the meantime,
“it’s good that all the stakeholders are sitting around the table (...) to see how to organize themselves better”
.
“It shows that there is a mark of respect towards us
,” added Manuel Herrero, secretary general of the UNSA Territorials. The latter, however, believes that
"today, the real debate is pensions (...) 1,200 euros per month after 41 years of good and loyal service, it is indecent
. "
Read also Agreement found for better remuneration of municipal police
The Association of Mayors of France (AMF) expressed, at the end of the meeting,
“its reservations at this stage on the extension of judicial powers outside the framework of APJ (judicial police agent) without an examination preliminary consequences for the municipalities in all their diversity and their difference in means
. Four other meetings are planned on the subject in the coming months: May 16 at the Ministry of the Interior, May 27 at La Grande-Motte (Hérault) and two others
“probably in the North and perhaps in Lyon »
said Dominique Faure.
“The objective is to be ready for October”
so that all the points raised can be taken into account in the finance and civil service bill, explained Gérald Darmanin.