Europe 1 with AFP 10:17 a.m., May 2, 2022
The investigating judges have decided to indict for "voluntary homicide" the policeman who killed on the Pont-Neuf in Paris two men who would have forced a control.
A decision against which several police unions will protest this Monday in around forty cities such as Lille, Marseille or Bordeaux and Strasbourg.
Several 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 policeman who killed two men who allegedly forced a check on the Pont- New 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 Synergie and Unsa-Police officers.
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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.
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.
An "inadmissible decision"
At the end of 48 hours in police custody, the 24-year-old peacekeeper was indicted for "intentional homicide" concerning the driver, "intentional violence by a person holding public authority which resulted in death without intention to give it" with regard to the front passenger and for "willful violence aggravated by a person holding public authority" towards the rear passenger.
He was placed under judicial supervision.
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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.
"Keeping Sanity"
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 our reason," said Laurent-Franck Liénard, the policeman's lawyer.