Debrief French security Bill

Macron makes a 'strategic retreat'

Move to rewrite draft law curbing freedom to share images of cops comes after big protests

Police officers dragging a man on the ground during a protest in Paris last Saturday against a draft security law that would ban people from sharing images of police officers for "malicious purposes".
Police officers dragging a man on the ground during a protest in Paris last Saturday against a draft security law that would ban people from sharing images of police officers for "malicious purposes". PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

French President Emmanuel Macron's ruling party announced this week that it will completely rewrite a draft plan that would have curbed the freedom to share images identifying police officers, after large protests over the weekend against police violence.

Here's a closer look at the issue.

The story

It was a "strategic retreat". After months of insisting on the need to introduce a security law that included a curious provision banning people from sharing pictures of police officers for "malicious purposes", Mr Macron bowed to outcries from civil liberty groups and ordered his government to rewrite entirely the provisions of the draft law.

"It is neither a withdrawal nor a suspension but a total rewriting of the text" in order to remove "misunderstandings and doubts", said Mr Christophe Castaner, the leader of the ruling La Republique en Marche party.

Although Mr Macron tried to blame his ministers for the debacle - "the situation they put me in could have been avoided", he told a journalist - the episode has dealt a blow to a president whose popularity is already in the doldrums, and turned the spotlight on the activities of the French police, precisely what Mr Macron sought to avoid.

Why it matters

The authorities have been worried for some time about the rising level of violence in the country.

This started with the so-called yellow vest movement of countryside protesters that intermittently paralysed France's main cities for much of last year, but then extended to almost endemic vandalism in the deprived public housing estates.

France has a history of heavy policing: The gendarmerie, which is often called in to suppress riots, is a military force dedicated to imposing domestic order; and the CRS, a 13,000-strong police reserve force created after World War II with the specific objective of riot control, is famous for what police officers gingerly refer to as "robust tactics".

The widespread availability of digital cameras has meant, however, that almost any altercation between the police and demonstrators is now filmed. The clips are uploaded to the Internet within hours and are often used by demonstrators to discredit the police.

The authorities claim that many of the clips are doctored with the intent of blaming the police for violence.

There have also been instances where police officers have been identified from pictures and then subjected to personal attacks, and their families harassed.

Under the new security law, the government wanted to ban the circulation of such pictures, if the objective was to undermine the authority and credibility of the police. But the entire effort was bungled.

The legislation was sloppily drafted, and the authorities failed to explain that they were not proposing to ban the taking of any pictures during riots, but merely their publication.

They also failed to explain when a publication ban would apply.

But most importantly, the government failed to reassure not only the public but also legislators that the measure would not end up shielding the police from any accountability.

The release of a recently made video showing police officers beating to a pulp a youth of African descent did not help matters.

Neither did the fact that Prime Minister Jean Castex and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin were unable to specify what measures they would take to ensure that police use only the minimum of necessary force to disperse rioters.

What's next

After more than 130,000 people throughout France marched in protest over the past weekend, Mr Macron had no option but to withdraw the Bill.

The promise is that a new provision is about to be drafted, and may be resubmitted to Parliament either this month or at the start of the new year.

Parliament is also poised to approve provisions that will stiffen jail sentences against those convicted of attacking police officers, thereby offering the force some support.

But with only 16 months remaining before the next presidential election in which Mr Macron wants to campaign on his law-and-order credentials, the episode is an acute embarrassment; he has infuriated liberals, but has not reassured voters who believe in strengthening the hand of the government.

The debacle has also left relations between the police and the public in France as troubled as ever.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 03, 2020, with the headline Macron makes a 'strategic retreat' . Subscribe