French riot police patrol the streets of Nanterre during protests following the death of Nahel Merzouk earlier this month. Credit: Juan Medina/Reuters
On a typical day, Olivier patrols a medium-sized town in the Champagne region of France, looking for dangerous drivers.
But lately, the 44-year-old police officer either drives aimlessly around the city, or sits idle in the police station.
If he sees a minor offense, he closes his eyes. The only part of his job that he does completely is emergency calls.
Like hundreds of other officers around the country, Olivier responded to calls from unions to carry out only the bare minimum of duties as part of a nationwide uprising.
The catalyst for the protest was the judge's decision to imprison a Marseille policeman. instead of releasing him into custody ahead of his trial for beating a man during riots in France earlier this month.
The officer, a member of the crime-fighting brigade, is one of four accused of violent attacks . A 22-year-old man in Marseille who left him in a coma with a dent in his skull.
The victim, known as Khedi, says she did not participate in the protests and had just left work when she and a friend were confronted by a group of police officers early on July 2.
Hedy had part of his skull removed and he partially lost sight in one eye after being beaten by the police. Photo: Konbini
Officers shot him in the head with a riot control machine and beat him so hard that he broke his jaw and partially lost sight in one eye.
While he was in a coma, doctors had to remove most of his skull, leaving his head disfigured.
The beating was caught on CCTV cameras, but police officers across France seized on the court treatment of one of them as an indicator a society that no longer values their work and the risks they take.
“Why do we work to rule? Because a police officer who leaves the house in the morning can also be charged in the afternoon and detained by the evening,” Olivier, who requested anonymity, told The Telegraph.
“There is never a presumption of innocence for police officers . You are immediately guilty.”
Because the police are an important service and are not allowed to strike, hundreds of others have rebelled, calling in the sick, resulting in fewer police escorting suspects to court and fewer night watchmen. in French prisons.
On Thursday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that about five percent of police officers went on sick leave or refused to work.
In an interview with La Depeche, Toulouse police also questioned the judge's decision to place their colleague on remand instead of house arrest and expressed a sense of «abandonment.»
«What is the purpose? Besides to humiliate us and let the offenders think that anything is possible?” one of the officers asked.
Nicolas, one of 600 officers in Marseille who took sick leave, said he “couldn't take it anymore” and was considering leaving the force.
“ We are not supported either hierarchically or politically. So that's enough at some point,» he told radio station RTL.
Riots erupted across France on June 27 after a policeman shot and killed a French teenager of North African descent during a stop in the Paris suburbs.
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But now the country is discussing the alleged sacrifice of the police themselves.
“We are not asking to be above the law,” Olivier said. “We are simply asking to be respected in regards to our professions. We know that no one is above the law, but no one is below the law.»
However, some officers in the Khedi case did not fully cooperate with the justice system.
“No police officer is willing to participate in the investigation, even if it is difficult for him to identify himself in the video,” investigators from the General Inspectorate National Police and Justice (IGPN) wrote in their report, according to a French news channel. BFMTV.
An officer from Marseille — the only one in the group who had a riot gun — was taken into custody at the request of the prosecutor to prevent the accused from consulting with each other.
While the two defendants admitted their involvement in the beating, the prison officer, who can be identified by his T-shirt, claims to remember nothing about that night, denies any involvement and said he does not recognize himself in the pictures.
A fourth officer also claims to have no memory of that night and reportedly refused to be photographed to identify the victim, citing «security concerns».
Edie spoke about his injuries in an interview with French media this week .
“Sometimes I feel like I'm about to wake up, but I always wake up with a deformed head, these migraines and blurry vision. . It's hard to bear,» he told the French website Konbini, where he looks horribly mutilated.
set on fire during protests in Paris. Photo: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
One of the police unions, the Unité SGP Police, subsequently released a list of demands, including special status for detained police officers and anonymity for all agents facing legal charges.
“I think we have reached the point where there must be an evolution in the justice system and perhaps in the police. We are also not against evolution,” Olivier said, pointing out the need for more police training in the workplace.
“France has seen a lot of changes over the past few years with the number of violent protests, and we are just fed up” .
Before the riots earlier this month, police had to deal with «yellow vests» and protests against pension reform.
But Olivier said the latest outbreaks were the worst he's ever experienced in his 23-year career and was shocked that they reached his usually quiet city of 60,000.< /p>
“It was violence like I’ve never seen,” he said.
IGPN is investigating some 30 police complaints related to the riot, including the death of 27-year-old Mohamed Bendriss and the blinding of his cousin Abdelkarim, 21, who was hit by a projectile during the riot.
At the same time, Valentin Gendro, an investigative journalist who worked undercover as an officer in the riot for several months.
«I think the police need to be reminded of their place because there seem to be a few police officers who think they have all the rights but no responsibilities,» he said.
Describing the six months he spent on the front lines in 2019, he added: «I think some police officers have such a sense of impunity that they think they can be both policemen and administer justice.»
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“I saw police officers who themselves administered justice. I have seen police officers be violent and beat people up because they thought the justice system wasn't fast enough, that it was too weak. Therefore, they themselves administered justice.
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