During his wishes to the population in 2023, Raymond Charbonnier, the mayor of Paimboeuf, announced that he had decided to use a municipal police officer. He had refused to do so until then, but he was responding to the request of part of the population, and to that of Étienne Naud, commander of the Pornic gendarmerie company. “It’s a reciprocal commitment. We asked for an increased presence of the gendarmerie, but Commander Naud asked us to provide ourselves with a municipal police officer, in order to find a response to incivility, to the concerns of citizens and to help the gendarmerie, explains the councilor. Our municipal police officer is not only there to repress, but also to provide advice and education to the population. » It will also bring relief to the town hall’s reception services, where staff increasingly serve as buffers against dissatisfied citizens. It will delay problematic neighborhood situations and others
assures the mayor. The gendarmerie also encourages video protection, but Raymond Charbonnier warns: Here, it’s not in keeping with the times. Too expensive!
A municipal police officer since the end of November
Recruitment was complicated, because there were many requests from cities and few municipal police officers available. Recruitment was carried out with the community of communes, which makes it available exclusively to Paimboeuf. It is a political choice, because we will be the only ones to bear the cost of this permanent official, i.e. nearly €70,000 per year.
Fabrice Hélias, 46 years old and father of three children, took up his position on November 21. Originally from Quimper (Finistère), he had already held this position in the Rhône-Alpes region since 2019, after following a six-month training course in Montpellier (Hérault). “My role is to travel around the town, to clear up misunderstandings, to identify infractions. Paimboeuf occupying a small territory, this will offer the advantage of proximity. I will be in the field 80% of the time, the rest in my office in the old fire station, explains Fabrice Hélias. Already, the population is starting to identify with me. I have a strong demand for presence during middle and high school outings. »
The police officer will work a first week at 40 p.m., or five days, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (6 p.m. on Wednesday), to monitor youth gatherings at the gymnasium
and the following week at 11 p.m., four days (end at 6 p.m. Thursday). He has a car and will take the steps to obtain weapons, a pedestrian camera, a stick and a small gas bottle, initially.
