The election of the president of the police organization based in Lyon, worries human rights activists because of the candidacy of General Emirati Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi.
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The building is the result of a bunker, placed in the green. Based in Lyon, the global headquarters of Interpol is installed between the Rhone and the park Tête d’Or. The contrast with the bucolic cubical building surrounded by an electric fence bristling with cameras. The front door is accessible by a single road, bristling with barriers and barbed wire. Avenue side, a metal net protects the facade of glass and concrete, the windows seem never informed. Park side, a bus stop is called Interpol. Otherwise no indication or outer plate identifies the location. The obsession with security in 1986. An attack by a wounded and heavy damage, claimed by Direct Action, had hit the organization at the time based in St. Cloud. What motivated the move to Lyon.
A candidate decried
Hardly recovered from the trauma of the sudden disappearance of its former president, Chinese Meng Hongwei, imprisoned in his country since 2018, Interpol faces a new controversy on the eve of its annual meeting, scheduled for November 25 in Turkey . Admittedly, unlike the General Secretary, the position is honorary and operational, but the candidacy of General Emirati Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi screaming the human rights activists, worried that Interpol exploited by dictatorships. Hubert Julien-Laferrière, MP MLA Rhone, and lawyer William Bourdon led the revolt against the former interior minister of the UAE, accused of brutal repression. According to them, the increased funding in UAE Interpol budget can not all afford. The recent nomination of the Czech Sarka Havránková could help break the deadlock.
An institution expanding
Established in Vienna (Austria) in 1923, the international organization of police cooperation was transferred to France after the Second World War. First in Paris and Saint-Cloud and then in Lyon in 1989, this purpose built building. President François Mitterrand inaugurated sign of diplomatic interest in preserving the Interpol General Secretariat. The organization has continued to grow, rising a hundred Member States in the 1960s to 194 today. Known from the beginning for its Red Notices, devoted to criminals wanted in the world, Interpol has developed considerably broadcasts and information exchange. From its headquarters in Lyon, Interpol General Secretariat manages 18 databases, ranging from criminal profile to substances used by terrorists.
A significant local impact
On his arrival in Lyon, Interpol headquarters had 250 agents. They are now 700. And the organization requires additional space, with a budget estimated at 40 million euros. What stirs controversy between the government and communities Lyon. Gerald Darmanin visited the Interpol Secretary General last month to reassure the French intentions to promote the maintenance of the institution. The interior minister called the mayor and the city, managed by environmentalists to get their hands in their pockets, knowing that Interpol generates some 9000 visits per year in Lyon, where significant economic benefits. “Lyon fulfills its part of the bargain,” replied Gregory Doucet. The mayor of Lyon is reluctant to meet “commitments that fall within the state.”