Thousands of protesters including far-right politicians rallied across France on Saturday afternoon in support of the country's cash-strapped police force. Organised by the Alliance trade union, rallies were held in around 20 cities, including Paris, where between 15,000 and 20,000 people turned up.
Gathered behind a banner reading "Citizens with the police, stop insecurity, stop impunity", the protesters marched through central Paris.
"All cops are heroes" and "impunity breeds criminals" were among the slogans written on the demonstrators' placards. The Marseillaise anthem was also heard during in the procession.
Several far-right politicians were in attendance including Paris mayoral candidates Sarah Knafo and Thierry Mariani as well as Marion Marechal, the niece of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who was herself visiting eastern department of Moselle as part of the municipal election campaign.
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"It is a real shame to let police officers, very often, work in conditions that are even problematic from a health point of view," Marine Le Pen told French news agency AFP.
She acknowledged that while "an effort" has been made in recent years, it was still "insufficient".
Police are fed up
Ahead of the rallies, Fabien Vanhemelryck, head of the National Police Alliance, said he wanted to raise "awareness of a situation that is becoming very serious".
"The national police can no longer do their job under normal conditions," he told AFP on Friday.
Ziane Marouane, regional secretary for Nouvelle-Aquitaine branch of Alliance says police are "fed up".
"Some police stations are falling into ruin. (...) We are 30 years behind other European police forces, and equipment, particularly cars, is in poor condition," he says.
Present at the Paris demonstration, Gaëlle James, secretary general of the police officers' union Synergie officiers, told AFP that officers had to fight "increasingly violent crime" and pointed to "a clear lack of resources, a lack of personnel and a lack of equipment".
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David Leyraud, national supervisor of the union was at the demonstration in Toulouse, where organisers said around 1,000 people turned out.
"Across the country, violence is exploding, trafficking is thriving, networks are establishing themselves and the authority of the state is declining," he said.
Thierry Simonet, a 74-year-old retiree from Toulouse, also joined the demonstration to "add to the numbers" in support of the police, "to show that they need our support," he told AFP.
Marc, a police officer in Bordeaux, also deplores the delays and insufficient resources in the fight against drug trafficking: "Dealers have encrypted means of communication, powerful cars and work underground."
Difficult situation
One of the protesters, who travelled to Paris from the eastern suburb of Fontenay-sous-Bois, said the situation was difficult.
"There is a lot of insecurity, and the courts especially aren't doing their job," said the 57-year-old IT worker, Jean Demetz.
In the southern city of Nice, several hundred police officers marched in a procession led by several right and far-right politicians like mayor Christian Estrosi and his rival Eric Ciotti.
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Alliance claimed that there were 45,000 demonstrators across France; 1,500 in Lyon, 400 in Lille and 400 in Marseille. The authorities have not yet released any national figures.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez was invited to participate in the rally, but he declined, citing a duty of neutrality.
According to Nunez, since 2017, 12,500 jobs have been created in the internal security forces, property loans have doubled and 19,000 vehicles have been purchased.
(with AFP)
