in Nantes, environmentalists stick to their anti-gun dogma

This is the red line of the Nantes Green Guards. Conquered in 2020 by Pierre Hurmic's environmentalist list, the city of Bordeaux presented this week a plan to overhaul its municipal police, intended to be partly equipped with firearms. This turnaround “freed from Manichean debates”, to use the words of the green councilor, is unusual on the scale of large French cities facing an increase in the feeling of insecurity. It nevertheless gives Nantes plenty of food for thought, at a time when the city of Dukes is going through an autumn punctuated by violence and serial score-settling. Allies of Johanna Rolland's socialist majority, the elected environmentalists from Nantes, however, refute any rapprochement with their Bordeaux comrades. And they act as guarantors of the orthodoxy of their political family.

“We regret Pierre Hurmic's decision, which corresponds neither to our policy nor to our line which has not varied on this subject. This is very clear: each force has its prerogatives. And that of the municipal police is not to fight against drug trafficking, but to be in a proximity approach, in dialogue with citizens. indicates to Figaro Marie Vitoux, leader of the environmentalist and citizen group in Nantes, emphasizing in particular the prevention role of agents on the issue of drug trafficking. “It is not a question of denying the phenomenon, but of strengthening the best means to stem it. This involves reinforcements from the judicial police, for example.” Requested by West France , the elected environmentalist Simon Citeau also mentioned that “carrying a weapon can generate fear”, and would complicate the prevention work required of municipal police officers.

Status quo at Nantes town hall

Reactions freshly received in the ranks concerned. “These arguments are aberrant and purely ideological. We must put the church back in the center of the village: it is our security that is at stake – and this in no way prevents us from continuing to work closely with the residents. defends Céline Peremarty, Force Ouvrière delegate within the Nantes “PM”. “Nantes is still far from being a peaceful city. It is time for the question of lethal weaponry to be asked again.”she adds, announcing that the police unions should send an arming request to the town hall by the end of the week. In the medium term, the municipal police department should submit the same request to Johanna Rolland's desk.

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For the moment, the socialist town hall in power since 2014 remains reluctant to the idea of ​​strengthening the armament of its municipal police. In accordance with an electoral promise, the councilor is working to increase the number of police officers. After a difficult start, recruitment has accelerated and now brings the unit to more than 170 personnel. A salary increase was also granted to police officers.

However, water seems to have flowed under the bridges of the city of Nantes. Mayor Johanna Rolland had in the past assumed her opposition “personal and political” to arm the municipal police. For almost a year, on the other hand, the councilor has focused on his other projects, seeming to favor the status quo on this issue. The elected official made no statement about the latest violence and did not comment in public on the Bordeaux decision. The former security deputy, Pascal Bolo, still insisted in 2022 that “the lethal weapon is neither a necessity nor an option”, while recommending that police officers “withdraw” in case of danger. His successor since 2023, Bassem Asseh, is more diplomatic. “We do not have the idea, right away, of arming the municipal police more.” he nuanced in September Figaro. Wednesday evening, the elected socialist also thanked online the police – including the armed national police – who intervened in the northern neighborhoods, plagued by violence. “Their presence is essential: it reassures citizens and exerts essential pressure on traffickers,” he stressed on the social network X – in apparent opposition to the comments made by Simon Citeau, on the effect caused by armed police officers.

If the town hall were to change its mind on arming the municipal police, then a red line would be crossed

Marie Vitoux, leader of the environmentalist and citizen group in Nantes

“That the presence of armed police can be reassuring for local residents seems obvious. But it is worrying to note that the different groups in power in Nantes do not see things the same way!” underlines Céline Peremarty. Last April, the mayor of Nantes presented her allies with a fait accompli by announcing the arrival of 80 video surveillance cameras, in addition to the already operational fleet of 250 devices. A show of force which outraged environmentalists. “If the town hall were to change its mind on arming the municipal police, then a red line would be crossed”warns Marie Vitoux.

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On the right, Nantes elected officials are sorry about the cold war climate between pinks and greens. “This is the height of irresponsibilitytackles the city councilor Foulques Chombart de Lauwe. Johanna Rolland has become the hostage of her far-left allies, who keep her in a dogmatic block. It is up to him to oppose their demands and to arm the police, that is to say, to protect them.” “It is not an armed police officer who is frightening, but rather the insecurity that the people of Nantes face on a daily basis,” the right and center opposition group added in a press release on Thursday.

Despite everything, municipal police officers believe they are closer than ever to hypothetical firearms equipment. Apart from the Bordeaux turnaround, Céline Peremarty evokes the national dynamic, as well as the renewal of local chefs by energetic personalities. The department's national police force gained a new director in September, Philippe Jos, who earned his stripes in Mayotte and then in Guyana. And the municipal police found themselves without a leader for an entire year, before the arrival in August of David Canut, former director of the La Rochelle municipality. A police force that he had supported during its transition to lethal weaponry, in 2017. An interesting profile, therefore, to carry out a similar mission in Nantes. “The political will still needs to be there”however, concedes the Nantes police officer.