In the aftermath of improvised demonstrations in several cities in France, Monday, March 20, and muscular interventions by the police relayed on social networks, the prefect of Paris, Laurent Nunez, refuted any “excessive violence” and denied l’existence d’“unwarranted arrests”. “Totally unfair reactions and [déconnectées] of what is reality”considered the senior official on Tuesday sur BFM-TV.
Laurent Nuñez (@NunezLaurent), prefect of police of Paris: “There are no unjustified arrests” https://t.co/pvG2XZnhyM
“We are questioning for offenses which, in our eyes, are constituted” and, once the placement in police custody has been decided by a judicial police officer (OPJ), “we have 48 hours to try to materialize the infringement, it’s short”insisted the prefect of police. “When we reach the end of 48 hours, sometimes we have not characterized the offense, we are in a state of law, it’s happy, and at that time, there are no prosecutions”he continued.
The prefect also underlined “that a certain number of people have not been referred [présentées devant un juge] but there were alternatives to prosecution, so the offense was constituted”. During the first spontaneous gathering on Thursday, Place de la Concorde, interspersed with incidents, only nine people were presented to the prosecution, in particular for reminders of the law, out of the 292 placed in police custody. 283 procedures were closed without further action, for insufficiently characterized infringement or absence of infringement.
The next day, 60 people were placed in police custody: 34 procedures were closed, 21 led to alternative measures (reminder of the law, probationary warning, etc.) and five to a trial. A total of 287 people, including 234 in Paris, were arrested Monday evening in France during a fifth consecutive evening of spontaneous demonstrations against the use of 49.3.
An investigation opened after the punch to a demonstrator
Regarding the « nasses », filmed and broadcast, Laurent Nunez distinguished two types of traps. On the one hand, the “judicial traps” : “When we arrest people because they have committed an offence, yes, we nasse them and we wait to be able to deal with them judicially, so that police means can pick them up to take them to a police station. »
On the other hand, the “public order traps”which are the most controversial: ” I can [les] decide because I consider that there are disorders which are so serious that it is better to contain a group than to let it progress and commit new abuses. That, the Council of State did not prohibit it. What he simply asks of me is to make decisions that are proportionate and not too restrictive. [La nasse] shouldn’t last too long, and after a while you should let people out. »
a member of #BRAV has just put a right to a demonstrator #ReformeDesRetraites #directAN #greve20mars… https://t.co/LfdjxbuFVn
Asked about the violent blow given to a demonstrator by a member of the security forcesthe prefect replied that he had “need to contextualize, know in what context it happened”. “What my officials tell me is that they arrested an individual who with a cobblestone was degrading a kiosk. Several individuals violently opposed this arrest. It was in the context of this maneuver that the blow was struck. »
The individual, according to Laurent Nunez, “would not have been taken care of by the Paris fire brigade, but by the police”. According to him, the man would not have been “to his knowledge” not seriously injured and could have walked away freely. Laurent Nunez however announced the opening of an administrative investigation with the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN). Can a civil servant, regardless of the setting, deliver such a punch? “It’s not quite suitable, but in an emergency and when the officials are attacked in a violent way it can happen. »
