Rejection of a request for debate in the Assembly for the dissolution of the controversial BRAV-M

2023-05-02 13:28:52

A request from the left for the National Assembly to debate the dissolution of the Brigade for the Repression of Violent Motorcycling Action (BRAV-M), a controversial police brigade, was rejected on Tuesday May 2, after a first setback in law commission a month ago.

This brigade has been the subject of very strong criticism for several months, and some of its members find themselves under several investigations for violence or threats against demonstrators on the sidelines of rallies against the pension reform in Paris.

A citizen petition asking for its dissolution, signed by around 264,000 people, had been discussed and then classified in the law commission on April 5. The presidents of the socialist groups and La France insoumise (LFI), Boris Vallaud and Mathilde Panot, had then tried to give it a second chance, by asking the presidency of the Assembly that it still be subject to a debate in the Hemicycle.

Read also: BRAV-M: the Assembly’s law commission files the petition to dissolve the motorcycle brigades

Debate on “the repression of the social movement”

In vain. The Assembly’s conference of presidents, bringing together the leaders of the various political groups, rejected this request on Tuesday. The groups Les Républicains and Rassemblement national argued that the rejection of the petition by the law commission on April 5 should be respected.

Read also: Dissolution of the BRAV-M: what steps must the petition take to be examined by the Assembly?

Dozens of citizen petitions concerning the BRAV-M have flourished in recent weeks on the Assembly’s website, one of them bringing together just over 26,000 signatures on Tuesday morning. The question of maintaining order in France continues to agitate the benches of the Palais-Bourbon, and the violence and injuries on the sidelines of the demonstrations of the 1^is-May should in no way slow down this momentum. A debate on “the repression of the social movement against the pension reform” must also take place on Wednesday in the Hemicycle, at the initiative of the LFI group.

Also listen Police violence: BRAV-M under fire from critics

According to figures from the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, “61 demonstrators” and 406 police and gendarmes were injured on 1^is May on the national territory, some of them seriously.

The World with AFP