Rallies in front of courts and police stations are planned for Monday in France at the call of police unions to protest against the indictment for "intentional homicide" of the police officer who killed two men who allegedly forced a check on the Pont-Neuf in Paris.

In total, police officers should be mobilized in around forty cities, from Lille to Marseille via Bordeaux and Strasbourg, announces the union of peacekeepers Alliance, at the initiative of the call to which the union of Synergy and Unsa-Police officers.

The largest gathering should be held at 12 p.m. in Paris, on the Place Saint-Michel, located a few hundred meters from the old courthouse and the Pont-Neuf.

"Voluntary violence by a person holding public authority"

It was there, on April 24, that a police officer armed with an assault rifle opened fire on the driver of a car and his passenger, aged 25 and 31, who allegedly tried to evade control.

They died on the spot and a third man was injured.

After 48 hours in police custody, the 24-year-old peacekeeper was charged with "deliberate homicide" concerning the driver, "deliberate violence by a person holding public authority resulting in death without intention to give it” with regard to the front passenger and for “willful violence aggravated by a person holding public authority” against the rear passenger.

He was placed under judicial supervision.

presumed innocent

In the process, the Alliance union published a leaflet denouncing the “inadmissible decision” of the investigating judges to retain the criminal qualification of “intentional homicide”, punishable by 30 years in prison.

Alliance and Synergie also call for the establishment of a "presumption of self-defense" by the police, a measure defended by Marine Le Pen during the presidential campaign but rejected by re-elected President Emmanuel Macron.

Unit SGP Police, a competitor of Alliance, chose not to "take positions that could harm" the colleague under investigation, recalling that he is presumed innocent, and asked for "a court and specialized magistrates experienced in the difficulties of the police profession”.

As union elections are held at the end of 2022, this case has exacerbated tensions between representatives of the peacekeepers.

“Everyone is excited.

The police unions want to recover this file, I say that we must keep reason, ”said Laurent-Franck Liénard, the police officer’s lawyer, to AFP.

The Pont-Neuf policeman's lawyer disputes the "intentional homicide"

Why self-defense was not retained in the Pont-Neuf drama

  • Company

  • Police

  • Gathering

  • Justice

  • Presidential election 2022

  • Emmanuel Macron