Why the ban on showing the faces of police officers is controversial

A "yellow vest" filming the

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• A bill on "global security" must be examined from this Wednesday, November 4 by the Law Commission of the National Assembly, before being examined from November 17 to 20 in the hemicycle.

• One of the articles of the text provides for punishing the “dissemination” of images allowing the identification of any policeman or gendarme in the context of a police operation if this dissemination aims to “undermine his physical or mental integrity”.

• Part of the opposition and associations denounce an obstacle to freedom of information, especially on police violence.

A new security law for the executive.

The deputies will debate Wednesday in committee of the bill "relating to global security".

"An important text", which aims to "strongly strengthen the weight of security" in daily life, said the Minister of the Interior on Twitter Monday.

Gérald Darmanin has also initiated the accelerated procedure on the bill.

Written by the deputies La République en Marche Jean-Michel Fauvergue - the former boss of the Raid - and Alice Thourot, the text has three parts: "The strengthening of municipal police, better supervision of private security, and several measures to improve protect those who protect us ”, summarizes the elected LREM of Drôme.

But several elements of this last chapter, which were not present in the first version of the text last January, are controversial.

Filming the police, a future offense?

“In the current context, with the epidemic and the terrorist attacks, everyone is a little paralyzed.

The executive took the opportunity to pass this security text, very politically selling, with this strategy which always aims to comb the lands of the RN and the hard right, ”denounces Ugo Bernalicis, rebellious deputy from the North.

In his viewfinder, in particular, article 24 of the bill, which consists in punishing the dissemination of images or identification elements of police or gendarmes when they are in operation.

This prohibition, the text specifies, only applies when the purpose of this dissemination is to “undermine the physical or psychological integrity” of these security forces.

With this measure, the majority want to protect officials and soldiers from any “malicious” use of their image on social networks.

"We want to prevent those who film police or gendarmes in intervention, identify them and launch cabals against them on social networks", defends Alice Thourot.

This new offense, punishable by one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros, was added at the instigation of the executive.

Asked about this on Monday on RMC and BFMTV, Gérald Darmanin justified himself: “I had made a promise, which was to no longer be able to broadcast the images of the police and gendarmes on social networks.

This promise will be kept.

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Today, we are studying in the law committee of the National Assembly the law proposal of the Thourot and Fauvergue deputies to strengthen security throughout the territory.

Objectives ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/SQD6hzLckv

- Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) November 2, 2020

The Benalla case

A promise that makes Anne-Sophie Simpere, in charge of advocacy at Amnesty International France, leap: “Some videos shot during demonstrations have brought to light illegal acts by the police.

This is part of the freedom to inform ”.

For Arthur Messaud, lawyer at La Quadrature du Net (QDN), the objective is "clear": "It is a question of no longer documenting police violence", he believes.

“It is a necessary counter-power to denounce the behavior of certain police officers.

Let us remember all that we have learned thanks to this type of video ”, abounds Ugo Bernalicis, who evokes for example the police violence which punctuated the demonstrations of the“ yellow vests ”.

“There is a principle, that of the transparency of the public official and his responsibility.

Without this principle, the affairs of the Burger King on the Champs-Elysées, Geneviève Legay, or Benalla would not have been known, ”says Paul Cassia, professor of public law at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Contacted by

, the LREM deputy and ex-boss of the Raid Jean-Michel Fauvergue, sweeps away any desire to obstruct the freedom to inform: “The text does not target any profession.

The right to film is absolute, but the broadcast must respect the terms of the proposed law.

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With more than three hundred amendments tabled - some of which emanate from the government - the deputies will change the text and clarify the outlines of this article 24. Or even delete it?

"It is the most caricatural measure, breathes Arthur Messaud of the NDQ, to the point that one wonders if it is not a red rag that will ultimately be rejected by the deputies.

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Society

Does the Ministry of the Interior wish to restrict the dissemination of videos of police officers?

Society

Police violence: the Interior Ministry launches into the war of images

• Demonstration

• Society

• Minister of the Interior

• security

• Law

• Gendarme

• Police

• Gerald Darmanin