The Interior Ministry will "systematically examine the possibility of deporting foreigners involved" in the violence that has taken place in Dijon for four days between Chechens and members of the Maghreb community, the ministry announced on Tuesday.
"If foreigners are involved in disturbances of public order, we will systematically examine, in accordance with administrative and, where appropriate, judicial procedures, the possibility of deporting them," he said.
"I want to send a very clear message to the thugs"
Was it necessary to intervene earlier and stronger after the unprecedented reprisal operations from Chechens in Dijon? On Tuesday, the public authorities defended all laxity and dispatched new reinforcements to the Burgundian capital. Came to assure the police of his support, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez said: "I want to send a very clear message to the thugs we have seen exhibiting weapons (.) Our response will be extremely firm. "
The ministry has announced that it will "systematically examine the possibility of deporting foreigners involved" in these incidents. Tuesday evening, "there will be in Dijon two units of mobile forces", or nearly 150 police or gendarmes in addition. And "they will be present as many times as necessary," added Laurent Nuñez. As of Monday, 110 mobile gendarmes had already been dispatched as reinforcements. He also said he was “very proud” of the action of the security forces, ensuring that they had “not stayed behind; it's completely inaccurate! "
"The populations have in no case been abandoned"
During the night, the prefect of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bernard Schmeltz had already defended all laxity. "Supervise and surround to avoid abuses: it was the only practicable strategy," he said. "The populations have in no case been abandoned," he said, after questioning the passivity of the police during the three punitive expeditions carried out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening by Chechens from France. and from Belgium wanting to avenge the aggression of one of their own.
On Monday, new incidents broke out again in the Grésilles district, but this time without implication of Chechens, according to the first observations. Vehicles and garbage cans were burned, a France 3 Bourgogne team attacked (she filed a complaint) as well as another driver. Four people were arrested, the first in this case.
Disarming the police, a "baroque idea"
The outgoing socialist mayor of Dijon, François Rebsamen, denounced the lack of resources of the police, facing Chechens equipped with iron bars, baseball bats and sometimes with firearms. "Since justice goes too late and the police do not have the means to act, the Chechen community has come to enforce its own rights," said the mayor, campaigning for a fourth term.
Faced with these groups, large and heavily armed, the police were outnumbered before the arrival of reinforcements on Monday, said a police source. “The choice not to go into contact is also explained by the presence of bands with real weaponry and the risk of going to clash and adding tension. Opposite, there are 200 or 300 people who will not be challenged. The balance of forces was not favorable with the police force initially present in Dijon, "said this source.
"Some will want to blame the situation on the national police," said David Le Bars, secretary general of the Union of Commissioners of the National Police (SCPN-Unsa). But "opposite, there are many guys who parade with real weapons". "Last week, politicians called for disarming the police (in the context of reports of police violence). With the situation in Dijon, we have demonstrated that things cannot be so simple, ”he added. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe went in this direction, believing that disarmament would be "a baroque idea".
And the controversy quickly took place on the political field, Marine Le Pen (RN) and Jean-Luc Mélenchon (LFI) pointing to "chaos" while Eric Ciotti (LR) evoked "almost a theater of war " Coming in person to Dijon, the president of the National Gathering denounced “surrealist community brawls between Chechens and Maghrebians”, regretting that there was no arrest before Monday evening.
- Dijon
- Urban violence
- Society