Forgotten heroes: French police stage rare protest

Thousands of French police officers held a rare protest Wednesday over a lack of resources and lax justice system, claiming they have been cast aside after being hailed as heroes during January's jihadist attacks in Paris.

The protesters gathered in Paris and cities around the country wearing T-shirts declaring "We want protection and recognition" and carrying placards reading "Proud of being police officers, disgusted at being abandoned".

The first police protest in France in three decades comes after an officer was seriously injured last week in a shoot-out with a criminal on the run during a leave of absence from prison.

The shooting infuriated a force already stretched to breaking point as they remain on high alert for terrorist attacks while also having to deal with everyday crimes.
The officers' frustration did not fall on deaf ears, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls coming out swiftly to announce a raft of new measures to appease the force.

And President Francois Hollande highlighted "the difficult, courageous and effective work by police, gendarmes and all security forces" in his weekly cabinet meeting, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.

Hollande said he would meet police unions next week.

"I hear the anger of the police, I hear their malaise," said Valls, announcing heavier sentences for possession of weapons and plans to simplify criminal procedures.

He also said more prisoners should have police escorts when on a leave of absence and that permission for leave should not be given without "proven necessity."

There have been several cases of prisoners escaping during leaves of absence in recent weeks, including a convict who had been given permission to go on a mountain-biking trip with other prisoners.

Another man, serving a sentence for rape, escaped during a leave of absence only to rape and stab a hiker in the eastern Alsace region.

- 'Worrying state of fatigue' -
The protest comes nine months after the police were bathed in glory after hunting down and killing three jihadists who shot 17 people in the January attacks, including much of the editorial team of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Three of the victims were police officers and there was an outpouring of public support for the law enforcers.

"The police, heroes in January, have been forgotten," said Jean-Claude Delage of the police union Alliance.

One of the protesters' main complaints is that the French justice system is too lax.

"We are here firstly because there is a problem with monitoring by the justice system. The people arrested are often the same, they pass through the courts and are released. Because there is no punishment they start again," said a Parisian officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.
All unions complain about an "explosion of violence", a "lack of resources", "unclear missions" and a "lack of solutions from the criminal justice system".

Nicolas Comte, another police union official, said the force was now overwhelmed with a "worrying state of fatigue".

- Taubira's headache -

The pressure on France's police is unlikely to ease as two major events requiring high security are looming -- the UN climate conference in December and the Euro 2016 football championship in June and July.

The last police protest took place in 1983 when some 1,500 officers took to the streets to criticise government policy under president Francois Mitterrand after two policemen were killed by members of an extreme-left group.
The police protest caps a bad week for Justice Minister Christiane Taubira, who is already dealing with a strike by lawyers refusing to increase contributions to a fund allowing legal aid to the poor, and a protest movement by prison wardens against overcrowding.

It also gave fresh bait to the conservative opposition which has targeted Taubira since she took on the role in 2012.

Laurent Wauquiez, a top member of former president Nicolas Sarkozy's Republicans party, said Taubira was "the symbol of a certain ideology which says 'we must not lock up dangerous individuals'."

Taubira on Tuesday highlighted the need to "prevent any risk of unjustified release" of prisoners.

Source: AFP