Criticized on the management of order, the executive wants a new anti-breaker law

After the May Day violence on the occasion of the mobilization against the pension reform , law enforcement management is making a strong comeback on the political agenda. The question of a new anti-breaker law is raised.

“I think we need to take up an anti-breaker law,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed on Tuesday at the microphone of BFMTV. A proposal taken up on his own by the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti, who presented this Wednesday his justice bill in the Council of Ministers. “We are thinking about it. We will work together, ”he said on RTL.

No calendar

The violent ***ault suffered by a police officer last Monday – he received a molotov ****tail and was burned in the second degree, which was qualified as attempted murder by the courts – was like a new reminder. The two ministers will meet this Friday to discuss the subject. For the moment, the reflection is only at a very preliminary stage.

No timetable or provisions appearing in the possible future law are specified. “At this stage, I don’t have an answer to give on whether we need a law or not, but one thing is certain, we must improve the situation,” said the government spokesman, Olivier Véran, leaving the Council of Ministers. According to a CSA poll for CNews, 82% of those questioned say they are in favor of tougher sanctions against thugs and other Black Bloc.

“Serious violations of fundamental rights”

The question is not new. In 2019, an anti-corruption law had already been p***ed in Parliament. But its main provision – the possibility given to prefects to issue administrative bans on demonstrations – had been censored by the Constitutional Council, the latitude given to prefects having been deemed too broad. Violence on the sidelines of demonstrations emanating from far left and black bloc movements has been almost systematic for several years, especially since Myriam El Khomri’s labor law in 2016.

This government offensive comes at a time when its management of the maintenance of order is questioned by the general controller of places of deprivation of liberty (CGLPL), Dominique Simonnot. Since the start of the protest against the pension reform, criticism from several institutions have emerged. In a report issued on May 3, the CGLPL denounces “serious violations of the fundamental rights” of those arrested and placed in police custody during the demonstrations against the pension reform on March 23, which resulted in numerous violations of the law.

“The instructions given by the police prefecture and the Paris prosecutor’s office, in particular, as well as the rate of cl***ification without follow-up of the procedures [qu’elle évalue à 80 %, NDLR] reveal a m***ive recourse, as a preventive measure, to the deprivation of liberty for the purpose of maintaining public order,” she adds. The Ministry of the Interior accused him of “exceeding his powers” and Laurent Nunez, the Paris police chief, declared himself on CNews “insulted and offended”.

Attacks on Mélenchon

The government plays the order, while the controversy over the maintenance of order is also played on the political field. The executive is stepping up its attacks against the leader of insubordinate France (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon. This Wednesday, he was accused by Elisabeth Borne of “undermining the confidence of our fellow citizens in our democracy” and of “challenging the police, excusing the thugs and concealing the violence”.

LFI is “the short scale at the RN”, estimated for his part Emmanuel Macron during the Council of Ministers, adding that “the rebels feed the factions”. Anyone who pleads for a Sixth Republic – and on May 1 launched a very controversial “down with the bad Republic” – is accused by the executive of a “permanent questioning of institutions”.

Tense atmosphere

In the National ***embly, a debate initiated by LFI on “the repression of the social movement against the pension reform” took place this Wednesday in a tense atmosphere. Subjected to a regular attack by parliamentarians from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement, the government was even accused by LFI deputy Matthias Tavel of wanting to “repress the Republic”.

The debate quickly turned into a dialogue of the deaf between the executive, represented by the Minister of Overseas Jean-François Carenco, and the LFI deputies. Like a replica four months of battle around the pension reform .