Urban rodeos: Gérald Darmanin asks prefects to use drones

Drones to put an end to urban rodeos. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin sent a message this Saturday to the prefects to ask them to use drones to fight urban rodeos. In this text message consulted by AFP, the minister asks the prefects that “police and gendarmes multiply presence operations” to “fight against urban rodeos”. “The use of drones in intelligence should not be neglected,” adds the minister. He asks to “make these operations known”, saying to be “particularly attentive”.

The use of drones by law enforcement is allowed since a decree of April 19. The police and gendarmes are authorized to use these aircraft equipped with cameras in particular for the maintenance of order or the “prevention of attacks on the safety of persons and property”. The measure was p***ed in December 2022 as part of the Criminal Accountability and Homeland Security Act, stemming from the controversial Global Security Act.

The drones used to secure May Day

In his SMS, Gérald Darmanin also asks the prefects “to be personally present” with the police, “and in connection with the unions” for the May Day protests.

Several prefectures, including the Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes and Rhône regional prefecture or that of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde, have already announced that they have issued decrees authorizing the use of drones by the police during May Day demonstrations.