In Paris, they were a little more than two hundred gathered in front of 36 rue du Bastion next to the Paris court where several magistrates and investigating judges came to lend their support.
“We show our solidarity (…) What happened in Marseille where we dismissed a colleague who was known for his constructive character, who proposed amendments to the project (…) is incomprehensible”, explained the divisional commissioner Jean-Paul Maigret, national secretary of the independent union of police commissioners. And even if the Paris PJ is not affected by the reform, the officer believes that it “will mechanically affect the police headquarters”.
The boss of the PJ in the South zone – which goes from Perpignan to Nice -, Eric Arella, who among other things leads complex investigations against narcobanditry, was dismissed from his post on Friday the day after a silent demonstration by his troops against the reform of the PJ during the visit of the Director General of the National Police. This eviction caused general indignation in the police but also in the judiciary where prosecutors and examining magistrates are also worried about the reform in progress.
Postponements of planned operations were noted on Monday in several PJ directions in France. In Nice, “a walkout movement for an unlimited period” has been observed since Monday by all the agents of the PJ, a policeman told AFP on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, specifying that “only emergencies are assured” .
The reform plans to place all the police services at the level of the department – intelligence, public security, border police and PJ – under the authority of a single Departmental Director of the National Police (DDPN), answerable to the prefect.
