This Tuesday, torso bulging and pride in their eyes, they will be alongside the military, gendarmes, doctors ... for the celebration of July 14, Place de la Concorde, in Paris. Fresh out of the Cannes-Ecluse National Police Academy, Claire, Louis, Rachid and Ludovic will be in the midst of the police parade, "happy for this singular moment for us and important for France," explains Louis Le Guen. , 26 years. We're going to represent the police, all the colleagues who have worked hard to fight the Covid-19 in recent months, it's a real pride. "
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In the weeks following this gathering, these intern lieutenants will join their units in the Paris region. A long awaited moment, even if the police are currently shaken by heavy charges: racism, violence, fracturing with part of the population…
Police, a vocation…
Despite these ups and downs, "being a police officer is a vocation," says Ludovic Savini, 34. I have never hesitated to do this job, even if it is not easy to hear all these criticisms. We all chose this job for noble reasons, to serve the population, so it's frustrating to see people who disparage the police. But you also don't have to do this job to be loved. "
"We shouldn't be hated either!" interrupts Rachid Akhaza, 38. It is unfortunate: we are thanked during the Covid, we applaud the police at each attack ... and now we are all bullies. Basically, all these controversies, it strengthens my will to be exemplary when I wear the uniform. "
Exemplarity: the word comes back to all these young officers, who deplore the slippages, notably racist, of a few police officers in recent months. "When there are drifts, we must punish them," says Ludovic Savigni. But don't put everyone in the same bag either. "
“The police are not racist, supports Claire Laurent, 23. On the contrary, we are on the front line to fight against all discrimination, this is also why we do this job. Recently, all were marked by the insults of which a gendarme was victim in Paris, during a demonstration organized by the Adama Committee (Editor's note: a black soldier had been called "sold") . "In the police we don't care about the origins," said Rachid Akhaza. The uniform erases our differences. There are no blacks, Arabs, women. There are police, that's all. "
A degraded image of the police
Proud of their profession, determined to do their best, these four young officers are also aware that they will have to manage the distrust of part of the population against them. "We know that we are going to work under the watchful eye of telephones which will sometimes only seek to show our mistakes, even if it means truncating images," notes Louis Le Guen. The accusations of police violence in recent months have left traces in the police station. Claire, Louis, Rachid and Ludovic, however, struggle to understand the relentlessness of part of public opinion “while we are very controlled. And, of course, when there are mistakes, sanctions are necessary, that's normal. "We are not superhumans, not machines," confirms Rachid Akhaza. We will always do our best, and we will probably have to use force, sometimes. Obviously, we should expect to be criticized for this, even if we do our job properly and use legitimate violence. "
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Son of a commissioner, Louis Le Guen is thus aware of the degraded image of the police, who no longer inspires the same respect. "At the time of my father, the police or their family did not hide their job," notes the young man. My father saw the evolution of the relationship with the population, but never advised me not to do this great job. However, despite the pride of their families, these four young officers all heard their parents, loved ones worry, fear for their lives too. This Tuesday is also for them that they will parade. To show that despite the difficulties of the trade, this uniform, they do not want to hide it.
