Demonstrators held for several hours at the police station, then released without any prosecution, police officers accused of violence: with spontaneous rallies against 49.3, lawyers, magistrates and politicians denounce "arbitrary" police custody and violence, seeing, as in other mobilizations in recent years, a "repression of the social movement".

"Faced with this violence [of demonstrators against the pension reform, editor's note], I want to pay tribute again to our police who ensure the security of the demonstrations. And I repeat, they have a duty to set an example and they are aware of it, our police officers as well as our gendarmes, "said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Tuesday, March 21, before the National Assembly, during the session of questions to the government. "Any report is examined," she added in response to a question from the leader of the Green deputies Cyrielle Chatelain.

"For months, we have built a compromise on the #réformedesretraites while respecting our institutions," @Elisabeth_Borne said.

"How dare you blame us for violence in the street," she added, paying tribute to the police#DirectAN #QAG pic.twitter.com/KftTc5JV26

— LCP (@LCP) March 21, 2023

Beyond the violence, the large number of arrests raises questions. Of the 292 people placed in custody on the sidelines of the first spontaneous gathering, Thursday, March 16, Place de la Concorde, punctuated by incidents, only nine were presented to the prosecutor's office, including for reminders to the law. A total of 283 cases were closed without further action on the grounds of insufficiently serious infringement or lack thereof.

The next day, 60 people were taken into custody: 34 proceedings were closed, 21 led to alternative measures (reminder of the law, probationary warning, etc.) and five to a trial.

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"It was really all kinds of profiles: students at the ENS, doctors, homeless, minors, trade unionists, teachers, people who came out of a conference and who were tired," said Coline Bouillon, one of the lawyers who assisted the demonstrators.

The people were placed in custody for "participation in a group for the preparation of violence", or "concealment of the face" and remained 24 or 48 hours in custody, said the lawyer, who speaks of "custody-sanctions", with "irregular files", "empty in terms of proof of guilt".

"An instrumentalization of criminal law by political power"

A group of lawyers of which she is a member intends to file a collective complaint for "arbitrary detention" and "obstruction of the freedom to demonstrate".

In a statement, the left-wing Magistrates' Union (SM) also denounced on Monday these numerous detentions, seeing it as a "repression of the social movement".

"There is an instrumentalization of criminal law by the political power, in order to dissuade demonstrators from demonstrating and exercising this freedom," said Raphaël Kempf, who stresses the absence of "reparation" or "excuse".

>> Read: Demonstrations, Constitutional Council, referendum... What is the follow-up to the pension reform?

Manuel Bompard, coordinator of La France insoumise, denounced Tuesday on France Info "this practice of abusive arrests" while Europe Ecology-The Greens asked for "the stop of the techniques of trap, judged as illegal".

This practice had already been criticized during the Yellow Vest movement. "The number 'never seen' of arrests and police custody intervened 'preventively'," was noted by the Defender of Rights in his 2018 report, citing on December 8 where nearly 2,000 people had been arrested throughout the France.

Since January 2023, protests have been taking place across France as part of the social movement opposing the government's pension reform project.

We warn of the excessive use of force and abusive arrests, reported in several media outlets. 👇

— Amnesty International France (@amnestyfrance) March 21, 2023

"For several years, we have documented the use of laws that are too vague or contrary to international law to arrest, sometimes prosecute, peaceful protesters. The French authorities must provide a legislative framework protecting the right to protest," Amnesty International tweeted France.

"There are no unjustified arrests"

For about "fifteen years", there has been a "judicialization of policing", notes Fabien Jobard, director of research at the CNRS and specialist in these issues.

He cites in particular the so-called Estrosi law of 2010 which creates the offense of "participation in a group with a view to committing violence or damage" – initially voted to "fight against gang violence and in stadiums" but since used in demonstrations.

Between the "repressive" and "preventive" scheme, where arrests take place before demonstrations or before significant violence or damage is committed, "the cursor is increasingly on the preventive side," he said.

Laurent Nuñez (@NunezLaurent), prefect of police of Paris: "There are no unjustified arrests"pic.twitter.com/pvG2XZnhyM

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) March 21, 2023

"There are no unjustified arrests, I can not let say that," said the prefect of police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, on BFMTV. "We arrest for offenses that, in our eyes, are constituted," but "48 hours [of police custody] to try to materialize the offense, it's short," he added.

Have instructions been passed to challenge massively? "No," says a senior police officer, who adds that "when risk profiles are arrested, they are no longer agitating others."

But with these many arrests, the "maneuver is risky", adds another police officer specializing in these issues. According to him, they "expose the workforce, monopolize agents" and "risk radicalizing the demonstrators".

With AFP

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