The controversy swells in Nantes, after a police operation conducted in the night from Friday to Saturday in Nantes, during which 14 people fell in the Loire. While a man is still missing, the Minister of the Interior has seized the Inspectorate General of the National Police (IGPN).
What happened ?
The facts took place on the night of Friday to Saturday in Nantes, on the occasion of the Feast of Music. Around four o'clock in the morning, the police intervened to end an electro party taking place in the city, on a quay of the Loire. According to the prefecture, the police intervened because the music, which was to stop at 4 am, was reignited.
But, according to the authorities, the police were greeted by throwing projectiles. Local media reported that the police responded with tear gas and de-encircling grenades before loading the participants. In the crowd, 14 people fell into the river, while there was no guardrail there.
"The police always intervene proportionately," said the prefect of Loire-Atlantique, Claude d'Harcourt, France Bleu Loire Ocean. "But faced with drunk people, who have probably taken drugs, it is difficult to intervene rationally and the individuals themselves were immutable," he added.
"At 4.30 am, they were cutting, they had not cut yet, the police arrived, they negotiated, they got upset about cutting or not. does not know who is at the origin of the departure of the skirmish, "said for its part told AFP Samuel Raymond, coordinator of the association" Free Form "which intervenes on local festive gatherings.
The youth were rescued by firefighters and SNSM. But one person remains missing.
Who is the missing person ?
It is the mother of the young man who officially declared his disappearance Sunday evening. Steve, a 24-year-old educator, is still missing. Described as "very tired" during the evening by relatives, he would have fallen asleep around four in the morning, not far from the Loire, a little before the controversial police intervention. The deceased's friends describe a "non belligerent" boy
Two open investigations
Two investigations were opened after the fact. On Monday, the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner seized the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), to study the conditions of the intervention of the police. A judicial inquiry is also opened, concerning the disappearance of Steve.