“In France, faced with an altercation, the authorities do not seek de -escalation, they send the police on the ground who make an indiscriminate use of their means,” points out the sociologist Sebastian Roché, after the incidents that have occurred on Saturday on the sidelines from the Champions League final.
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Two days after the chaos scenes that went around the world, the incidents on the sidelines of the Champions League final on Saturday May 28, continue to question France’s ability to welcome big international events under optimal safety conditions.
If he continues to attribute the responsibility of the events that occurred at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), to British supporters who came “either without tickets or with falsified tickets”, the Minister From the inside, Gérald Darmanin, expressed, Monday, May 30, his “regrets” for spectators who suffered from the use of tear gas by the police.
Sebastian Roché is a sociologist, specialist in police and security issues, research director at CNRS and professor at Sciences Po Grenoble. He is also the author of the Police Book in Democracy (Grasset, 2016). He explains how the use of tear gas by the police, without imperious or discernment, during incidents near the Stade de France, Saturday evening, is emblematic of the French police approach vis-à-vis a crowd .
that inspire you with incidents that have occurred at the Stade de France on Saturday in terms of crowd management?
What is striking in this situation is that the crowd was, in its vast majority, Pacific. Supporters massaged at the entrance to the stadium have shown great self-denial, including when the police filtering system forced them to go through a bottleneck-only a few have tried to jump on top The grid.
Another notable fact: British journalists tried, in vain, to alert the police for a certain number of dysfunctions. French police are not prepared to dialogue with the public. They are not led to bring information back to their hierarchy to adapt a device to the reality on the ground. They also do not communicate to the public to explain what they are doing or what is going on. This communication deficit is chronic.
Also asks the question of the appeal, let’s say “very generous”, with tear gas without legitimate reason or discernment. The use of this equipment by the police is regulated by article L-211-9 of the internal security code and by Article 431-3 of the penal code. In fact, these rules leave a fairly broad latitude to the police.
is it an isolated incident or a habit?
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