Several demonstrations took place in France in 2020 to denounce the racism suffered by part of the population from the police.

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Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

  • Six NGOs have put the Prime Minister, Eric Dupond-Moretti and Gerald Darmanin on notice to stop the facies checks.

  • In France, this is the first time that a group action has been launched on this subject.

  • The government now has four months to respond - or not - to the six associations.

A "revolutionary tool" to "move the lines".

For two years, six NGOs (non-governmental organizations) * have been working to put an end to a "scourge" deemed "systemic" in France, that of facies checks.

Made possible thanks to a law passed in 2016, the group action launched this Wednesday by these six associations summons the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and that of Justice to act.

An unprecedented initiative which "offers a lever for profoundly transforming police practice", according to the lawyer for the six NGOs, Me Antoine Lyon-Caen, lawyer at the Council of State and the Court of Cassation.

Documented, denounced by various institutions such as the Defender of Rights or elected officials but never stopped, discriminatory identity checks “harm and undermine” living together by fueling racist “prejudices” recalled this morning Issa Coulibaly, president of the association Pazapas-Belleville, during a press conference.

What is requested from the authorities and how will this procedure take place? 

20 Minutes 

takes stock.

How will the procedure unfold?

Before the possible referral to a judge, the six NGOs give formal notice to those they consider responsible for facies checks.

In this dossier, they are Jean Castex, Eric Dupond-Moretti and Gérald Darmanin.

"It is not a question of accusing a police officer of being racist but of saying that the system has generated, by its rules, its habits, its culture, a discriminatory practice", recalls Antoine Lyon-Caen.

Once this formal notice has been received, the Prime Minister and his two ministers have four months to respond to the breach denounced.

Discussions can start, action can be taken.

But the executive can also decide to do nothing.

If so, the organizations can then take legal action.

“The judge can organize a kind of consultation between the protagonists, he has a panoply of means to render an informed decision […].

He can question the administration, hear witnesses, ”continues the lawyer for the six NGOs.

What are the associations asking for?

The objective displayed by the associations is clear: to put an end to discriminatory identity checks.

The six NGOs ask the state to put in place six concrete measures to fight against this practice, denounced to the very top of the state.

“We want the Code of Criminal Procedure to be amended to explicitly prohibit any form of discrimination in identity checks,” explains Omer Mas Capitolin, director of the MCDS (Community House for Solidarity Development).

For associations, the law governing identity checks is too vague.

They therefore propose "that the controls can only be based on an objective and individualized suspicion".

They also ask for a specific regulation for checks targeting minors, the creation of a "system for recording and evaluating data relating to identity checks" and "making proof available to any person checked. of this control ”,“ the creation of an effective and independent complaints mechanism ”, but also the modification“ of the objectives of the police, of the instructions and of the training of the police, in particular as regards interactions with the public ".

Finally, the six NGOs are calling for the ratification by France of a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on non-discrimination.

Have there ever been any precedents?

In France, this is the first time that a group action has been launched on this subject.

If the facies checks have already been denounced in court, each time they were actions carried out by the victims of these facies checks, recalls Lanna Hollo, legal advisor for the Open Society Justice Initiative.

“A decade ago, we supported a collective action led at the time by 13 men seeking redress for discriminatory controls.

The Court of Cassation had rendered a decision of significant scope, recognizing gross negligence, ”explains the lawyer.

But these convictions had only a slight impact on this police practice.

"Measurements have been announced over the years, but on the ground the problem has continued to worsen," she said.

Abroad, on the other hand, similar approaches have already proved their worth, underlines lawyer Slim Ben Achour: “In 2002, in Cincinnati, Ohio (United States), an agreement was reached between the city , the police and the general public.

More recently, in New York, a group action to denounce the facies checks ended before the judge and a conviction was pronounced, forcing the police to change their practices ”.

What to restore confidence to Myriame Matari, lawyer for REAJI: “Despite very documented elements, despite the experiences reported, despite the videos, the investigations, things are not moving.

This is the lever that has been lacking until now to achieve a transformation of society.

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* Amnesty International France, Human Rights Watch, the Community House for Solidarity Development (MCDS), Open Society Justice Initiative, Pazapas-Belleville and the Network - Equality, Antidiscrimination, Justice - Interdisciplinary (REAJI)

Society

Facies checks: Six NGOs launch group action against the State on "discriminatory identity checks"

Politics

"Beauvau de la sécurité": The unions have until January 10 to announce their participation

  • Justice

  • Control

  • Police

  • Racism

  • NGO

  • Discrimination