INTERVIEW
Yellow vests, July 14, victory of Algeria: this weekend was marked by many public events ... which gave rise to numerous counts. More than 280 people were arrested on Sunday, suspected of damage or confrontations with the police. Cars burned, projectiles or fireworks, deterioration of street furniture ... The police recorded this year 434 overflows, against 225 last year. Hence a question that arises today: could not we anticipate this chaos?
"It was difficult to put police anywhere in France"
"We had a cocktail of demonstrations for which it was difficult to put police everywhere in France We did our utmost to intervene in the city centers but unfortunately, the police can not intervene everywhere," said Christophe Rouget, police commander and deputy general secretary of the Union of the cadres of the internal security, invited Monday of Europe 1.
For Christophe Rouget, the 14-July violence is now "traditional". And this year, were added counts related to the festivities that followed the qualification of Algeria in the final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN). "The Algerian community is the largest in France, probably close to two million people, so in fact, during the matches with Algeria, there are phenomena that are more important. who sometimes take advantage of it to degrade and show, sometimes, their hatred of France, and it is sad, "regrets the police commander.
"Crowd phenomena, alcohol, youth"
"It's difficult, we all call for quiet evenings, football is a big party, but it's bad calls are useless," continues Christophe Rouget. How to prevent this from happening again, for example Friday, during the final of the CAN opposing Algeria and Senegal?
"We must provide consistent services, but unfortunately the police can not be everywhere," warns the police, who also calls to cities. They could set up "fan zones, places to watch the game and celebrate it safely". But he also admits: "It remains difficult, because it is about crowd phenomena, alcoholism, youth ... There are many young men who, when they celebrate these victories, are full of excesses".