Should the municipal police be armed? This is the big question that agitates the Rennes municipal council. Currently, the 115 municipal police officers are equipped with bulletproof vests, electric shock guns, tear gas canisters, tonfas (weapon made up of a baton and an ergonomic handle). Obviously, the right demands “a real change of doctrine” on the part of the municipality, that is to say “the arming of the municipal police, the reinforcement of staff, the implementation of video protection” ; this is what Thomas Rousseau, one of the leaders of the Rennes right, explains (West FranceRennes, Wednesday November 6, 2024). During municipal council meetings, the question comes up regularly. Thus, for Charles Compagnon (Horizons), leader of the group Free to act for Rennes, “this insecurity is not inevitable. The municipality cannot simply endure and demand” and point “lack of video protection, understaffed municipal police” (West FranceRennes, Wednesday December 4, 2024) Note that the FO union of the municipal police is also calling for arming.
As for Mayor Nathalie Appéré (PS), she sees things differently: “The municipal police officer is a link in the chain of combating trafficking, in the link he creates with residents. However, he cannot question the dealer, he does not have the prerogative to do so. And in Rennes, he is not authorized to carry lethal weapons, because we have always said that the equipment of the municipal police depends on its missions. However, they are not on the front line in the fight against drug traffickers, that is the role of the National Police. Our municipal police officers are equipped with electric pulse pistols, in connection with their missions in the field. » (West FranceRennes, September 7-8, 2024). Equipping municipal police officers with firearms is not the solution for her: “We adopt municipal means for the missions of our agents. But security is a sovereign issue, therefore of the State. » (West FranceRennes, Tuesday October 15, 2024). We can reply that, in several socialist cities, the municipal police are equipped with lethal weapons: Marseille, Montpellier, Nancy, Dijon, Villeurbanne, Bourges (The PointDecember 5, 2024)
More “blues” means more credits
However, we cannot blame Nathalie Appéré for doing nothing for safety. Its latest innovation: a local mobile station. A truck converted into an office, with four municipal police officers on board, parks in different districts of the city; in particular in Blosne, Villejean, Maurepas and Bréquigny. This involves ensuring the presence of the municipal police and listening to the population. “We need blue in the city”assures Lénaïc Briéro, assistant in charge of security. “I am convinced that the more blue there is, the more uniforms, the more it contributes to meeting the need for security that is expressed”underlines Nathalie Appéré (West FranceRennes, December 14-15, 2024). Of course, the truck can stay “two to three consecutive mornings » in a sector when there is “tensions, particular needs, challenges in collectively re-appropriating a space”specifies the latter (West FranceRennes, December 14-15, 2024) It's better than nothing but completely insufficient if the municipal police want to prevent drug dealers from occupying the land. We see it with the national police officers who pass by on bicycles or in cars – business stops for a moment then resumes as soon as they have left. “My state of mind is really that of general mobilization”declared Nathalie Appéré in an interview (West FranceRennes, Tuesday November 5, 2024). She even saw things in the big picture: “The announced creation of a national anti-narcotics prosecutor's office based on the model of the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office is a good thing. » At its modest level, it could give concrete application to its desire to “general mobilization” : open municipal police stations in Blosne and Maurepas; which would ensure a permanent presence of the “blues” and prevent drug traffickers from quietly managing the deal points.
What is certain is that this speech about the “blues” is revolutionary among socialists. What do their environmentalist allies think? Let's not talk about the Insoumis who are radically “anti-cop”… Marie Mesmeur (LFI) MP for Rennes-Bruz, must appreciate the words of Nathalie Appéré… This is a point of disagreement – among others – for the next municipal elections.
Bernard Morvan
Photo credit: DR (illustrative photo)
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