French Special Police Controversy Over Violent Crackdown on Pension Reform Protest

Police Officer from BraveM Slaps and Insults Protester
Police Launch Immediate Investigation

France's special police forces have come under controversy amid allegations of violently suppressing pension reform protesters and engaging in unethical behavior.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 27th, according to major foreign media outlets, the online platform Loopsider released an audio recording in which French police officers made racist and sexually harassing remarks to people arrested at the protest site.

The recording, made around 11 p.m. on the 20th in Paris's 3rd arrondissement, captured several officers from the French special police unit 'Bravem' threatening and insulting seven young protesters. Bravem is a police unit that operates in pairs on motorcycles and intervenes immediately when problems arise during protests.

The daily newspaper Le Monde also reported verifying the authenticity of the same recording the previous day, pointing out that "the behavior shown completely violates both public service ethics regulations and the law."

According to the report, one officer threatened a protester by saying, "I have your photo. Next time we meet at a protest, you won't be taking the bus to the police station but the ambulance to the hospital." To a Black youth, after asking about his origin and hearing the answer "Chad," the officer made remarks such as "Do they eat well there?"

There also appears to have been physical violence, including slapping protesters' cheeks. One officer repeatedly said, "Don't laugh," then slapped someone's cheek. This was followed by the words, "Shut your mouth or do you want another hit?" and the sound of another slap was recorded. The approximately 20-minute recording also included statements like "We have broken countless elbows and faces," and "If you want, we can go to bed together."

A young person present at the scene that day announced plans to file a complaint against the police officers who made sexually harassing and sexually threatening remarks as well as racist comments.

The Paris police immediately launched an investigation. Laurent Nu?ez, head of the Paris police department, said in an interview with France 5 after the report, "I was shocked to hear about this report," and called it "unacceptable." However, he emphasized, "We should not condemn the entire organization, which has proven its usefulness in recent years, due to the personal actions of a few individuals."

On the 23rd, a petition calling for the disbandment of Bravem titled "Stop the Massacre" was submitted to the French National Assembly, and more than 43,000 people signed it within three days.

Bravem stands for the 'Motorcycle Unit Responding to Violent Behavior' and was formed during the response to the Yellow Vest protests triggered by the 2018 fuel tax increase.