France protest arrests: Are the police abusing the legal system? (2024)

Hundreds of people have been arrested in recent protests, but few were charged. Critics say this tactic is too arbitrary.

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Hundreds of demonstrators have been taken into custody in France in the past week in response to major protests erupting all across the country against the government's pension reform.

After the first spontaneous rally on 16 March, 292 people were taken into custody and presented to the public prosecutor's office, to receive a caution.

But only nine protesters have been charged with actual offences.

This means that almost 97% – or 283 cases – were closed without any follow-up, or charges being pressed.

“Arbitrary” police custody?

French media even reported that two austrian minors "on a school trip" ended up in police custody following protests on 16 March. The Austrian embassy intervened to have them released.

Questions are now being raised about whether this police mass-arrest tactic is being used simply to frustrate the protest movement.

Lawyers, magistrates, and politicians are denouncing the “arbitrary” police custody, seeing it, as in other protest movementsin recent years, as a “repression of the social movement”.

Some Parisians merely passing as protests continued over the weekend, have found themselves stopped and taken into custody without being given a clear reason why.

The following day, on 17 March, 60 people were taken into custody: 34 cases were closed, 21 led to alternative measures -- like a caution or a warning -- and only five have gone to trial.

What about the 'black-blocks' and 'casseurs'?

One of the main issues with the recent spate of protests and arrests, is that police have not always been giving clear reasons for the detention.

Coline Bouillon, a lawyer who assisted some demonstrators, explained that protesters had ''all sorts of profiles: students at the [local university], doctors, homeless people, minors, trade unionists, teachers, people who had just come out of a conference and were rounded up”.

Protesters were then told by police that they were taken into custody for“participation in a group with a view to preparing violence”, or “concealing their faces” and remanded in custody for 24 or 48 hours, said the lawyer.

She added that this practice is known as "custody-sanctions", where protesters had "irregular files" against them which were "empty in terms of proof of guilt".

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

An instrumentalisation of the judiciary?

In a statement, the Syndicat de la Magistrature (SM), a union for judges, also denounced ithe numerous police detentions, seeing them as a “repression of the social movement”.

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“It is the first time that the French government has used the criminal law to dissuade demonstrators from demonstrating and exercising their freedom,” said Raphaël Kempf, a French lawyer specialising in judiciary repression methods.

Several left-wing politicians have criticised "arbitrary arrests".

A recurring theme since the yellow jacket movement

This practice had already been criticised during the “gilets jaunes” movement. “The number never seen of arrests and police custody intervened in a preventive manner”, had been noted by the Defender of Rights in its2018 report, citing 8 December, when nearly 2,000 people had been arrested throughout France.

Amnesty International France also published a report on “arbitrary arrests” during a rally on 12 December 2020 in Paris against the “global security” law - 142 people arrested and nearly 80% released without prosecution.

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A Twitter account has even been set up to compile all videos documenting police violence since 2019. The account said it has chronicled more than 5,000 cases of alleged abuse since then.

For the past “fifteen years”, there has been a “judicialisation of policing”, notes Fabien Jobard, research director at France's National Scientific Research Centre CNRS, who is a specialist in such issues.

In particular, he cites the so-called Estrosi law of 2010, which created the offence of “participation in a group with a view to committing violence or damage” - initially passed to “combat gang violence and violence in stadiums” but since used in demonstrations.

Between the “repressive” and “preventive” schemes, where arrests take place before demonstrations or before major violence or damage is committed, “the cursor is increasingly on the preventive side”, he stressed.

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Police forces do not conduct “unjustified arrests”

France's interior ministry said on Tuesday "there are no unjustified arrests."

"We question people for offences which, in our eyes, are constituted”, a spokesperson said, but “48 hours (of police custody) to try to process the offence is short”, he added.

Have instructions been given for mass arrests?

“No,” said a senior police officer told AFP news agency, and added that “when high-risk profiles are arrested, they are no longer agitating others."

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But with so many arrests, the “manoeuvre is risky”, adds another police officer specialising in these issues.

According to him, they “expose the workforce, monopolise officers” and “risk radicalising the demonstrators”.

France protest arrests: Are the police abusing the legal system? (2024)

FAQs

Why are violent protest happening in France? ›

According to one poll, few of those protesting had voted for Macron in the 2017 French presidential election; many had shown political alienation by not voting, or had voted for far-right or far-left candidates. Rising fuel prices initially sparked the demonstrations.

What are the anti riot police in France? ›

The CRS are a civilian corps (unlike the gendarmes, who are military), trained in anti-insurrection and antiriot techniques. The CRS saw their first serious action during the 1947 strikes in France.

Does France have the right to peaceful protests? ›

Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association. The constitution and law provide for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, subject to certain security conditions, and the government generally respected these rights.

Do you need permission to protest in France? ›

In today's France, protesting for fundamental rights can bring fines, lead to spending a day or two in pre-charge detention; and be prosecuted with criminal charges without having committed any violence at all. During the last years, protests have been banned, and critics have been targeted.

What is causing the riots in France? ›

These unrests frequently originated from societal challenges such as unemployment, poverty, discrimination, and strained relations between minority communities and law enforcement. Although Nahel's killing prompted a relatively swift response, concerns remain as previous cases have seen minimal convictions.

What are French protesting against? ›

Many labor unions, student groups, human rights groups, and political parties called for rallies in order to oppose the anti-immigration and Eurosceptic policies of National Rally, and to promote "progressive alternatives for the world of work".

Who controls the police in France? ›

Préfecture de Police, one of the three main police forces of France. Controlled by the Ministry of the Interior, it provides the preventive police force for Paris and the Seine département.

Why are French firefighters fighting police? ›

According to a Reuters report, the 2020 clash broke out while French firefighters were demonstrating over their working conditions and demanding more pay (here).

What type of law enforcement is used in France? ›

Law enforcement in France is centralized at the national level. Recently, legislation has allowed local governments to hire their own police officers which are called the police municipale. There are two national police forces called "Police nationale" and "Gendarmerie nationale".

What is a major issue in France? ›

France 2023. Systemic racism and religious discrimination persisted, including against Muslim women and girls. Racial profiling continued with impunity.

Can you criticize the government in France? ›

Freedom of Expression: While individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal, there were some limitations on freedom of speech.

Does France have good human rights? ›

France has also ratified the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights 1960 and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000). All these international law instruments take precedence on national legislation.

Is Self Defense Legal in France? ›

Under article 122-5 of French Criminal Code, a person who, faced with an unjustified attack on himself or another, at the same time performs an act required by the need for self-defense of himself or another, is not criminally responsible, unless there is a disproportion between the means of defense used and the ...

What is the most famous protest in history? ›

Among the most famous protests in U.S. history is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Organizers described this event as a “living petition.” The day is perhaps most remembered for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

What is considered a violent protest? ›

The federal Anti-Riot Act (1968) defines the term riot in part as “a public disturbance involving…an act or acts of violence by one or more persons part of an assemblage of three or more persons, which act or acts shall constitute a clear and present danger of, or shall result in, damage or injury to the property of ...

Why are French farmers protesting? ›

The main worries of farmers, according to a poll dating from November 2023 were: worries linked to income and the economic context were cited by 53% of respondents (with rising costs, market instability and inadequate sales prices at the top of the list);

What is the main protest by the people of France? ›

People protested against the overpricing of bread which made them starve and rebel against the king. In 1789, the streets of France witnessed the marching of thousands of women.

What circumstances leading to the outbreak of protest in France? ›

Circumstances Leading to the Outbreak of Revolutionary Protest in France. The members of the third estate demanded the right of voting for each member. The proposal of the third estate was rejected by the king which led to the protest in France.

Why are the riots happening? ›

The violence, in towns and cities across England and in Northern Ireland, has been fuelled by misinformation online, the far-right and anti-immigration sentiment. Communities have responded with a series of rallies against the riots, with thousands gathering on Wednesday 7 August.

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