France has been rocked by protests and mass protests for days over a proposed security law criminalizing the recording or photography of police conduct with “clear intent to harm their physical and psychological integrity and public integrity” in public squares.
Thousands took to the streets in protest of the law, and President Emanuel Macron’s ruling party promised to rewrite the bill.
The latest unrest was sparked by the killing of black music producer Michelle Zeckler by four police officers in Paris on November 21. CCTV footage capturing the incident shows officers kicking and pushing Zeckler for several minutes. Zeckler accused the officers of racist bias and the four policemen are now under criminal investigation.
Change the proposed bill for the use of police images after the French LTTE MA CURS UT TORAGE
Meanwhile, the French Police Union is urging prosecutors to charge Zickler with resisting arrest.
However, opponents and Zekeler’s defenders have argued that the new security law would prevent such tragedies from coming to light.
Opponents insisted the bill was too vague and prevented citizens from holding police officers accountable, while supporters of the bill claimed the law would help protect police from online targeting and abuse.
Despite the possible text writing, the mere proposal of such a strict security law takes into account France’s dedication and commitment to responsibility and police brutality.
The background to France’s security bill comes in the light of worldwide Black Lives Matter protests this summer, which began after the death of a black man named George Floyd, who was in Minneapolis police custody in Brit Daylight on May 25th.
Tear gas firing and brutal scenes by police beating protesters in France once again highlighted the repressive police tactics and systemic racism, some of the themes associated with the 2020 riots.
France, like the United States and other multicultural societies, has long struggled to uphold the global and democratic ideals of racial equality embodied in its egalitarian constitution and reality on the ground. The recent spate of police violence against black and Arab citizens in France has sparked a nationwide movement to change France’s race-neutral policies.
During a protest against security laws in Paris on Saturday, November 28, 2020, a protester puts up a poster entitled “Land for the Right to Police”. Thousands of critics of the proposed security law, which bans the distribution of images of police officers in France, and officers in Paris were advised to act responsibly during protests, which fired tear gas to disperse dissidents in large crowds. . The cause has been fresh in recent days after footage surfaced of French police officers beating up a black man, sparking a nationwide uproar. (AP Photo / Franકોois Mori)
Floyd’s death and subsequent protests against the Black Lives Matter brought to the fore the politics of identity and France’s long history of colonialism and racial inequality. Major examples of the excessive use of police force captured on film in recent times, such as killing Zeckler, were leveled at people of color.
France’s African and Arab minorities have been betrayed and marginalized by a system that reinforces not only policing and security but also institutional racism in state-society relations.
French law since 1978 does not recognize race, ethnicity or religion, but a civil or immigrant, “colorblind” approach that effectively ignores identity.
There are no gender-conscious public policies taking into account vague minority communities and France keeps an eye on national statistics based on race or ethnicity which will help eliminate systemic discrimination like the US Census Bureau.
French public policy focuses on French national identity as a means of unifying its minority population and this approach creates an atmosphere of systemic discrimination because there are no reliable indicators of social, economic or political inequality.
French protesters will boycott the use of police images
In France, identifying as anything other than French is considered a threat to collective French identity.
“As a result, historically French people have been unable to gather information on college lease applicants, because if someone hires them as an Algerian-French this will set them apart from other French citizens and thus problematic,” said Professor Elizabeth Carter. Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of New Hampshire. “The idea is that all French citizens are equal. But of course, they are not treated this way. “
In the suburbs of France’s largest cities, there are often underdeveloped communities, called Bunilis, where there is a long track record of tensions between police and residents of these areas – and sometimes police behavior results in riots.
“So, your situation is that marginalized communities are often in certain geographic communities, and where there is a sharp vision of using excessive force,” Carter said.
Article 24 of France’s global security law calls into question France’s democratic constitution at a time when many say democracy is being eroded around the world, including in the United States, where President Trump refused to accept the election. President-elect Joe Biden.
Human rights experts immediately came out against the bill, calling it inconsistent with international human rights law and democratic standards. UN human rights experts also stressed that video surveillance of the people is an essential tool for holding officials accountable in a democratic society.
“These are very timely reminders that images of police abuse captured by people play an important role in monitoring public institutions, which is fundamental to the rule of law,” the experts said.
Benjamin Haddad, director of the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe for Europe Initiative, warns that despite the frenzy over the law, part of the misunderstanding is that the bill was written in a hurry and was not properly explained to the public.
“Part of the confusion is that people were saying that the film would be banned by police officers – but it only blames police content for sharing threats with online threats.”
With the recent upheavals on the streets, public outcry over French public policy in France has repeatedly experienced mass mobilization and often turned violent.
The Gillets Junes, or Yellow West Movement, is a big part of police motivation for gaining broad powers. The Yellow Waste movement first emerged in 2018 after Macron announced an environmental tax on fuel. Initially peaceful demonstrations quickly turned violent with widespread looting and vandalism throughout Paris.
On Tuesday, December 4, a demonstrator wearing a yellow vest opened the toll gate on the motorway near Aix-en-Provence in southeastern France and grabbed his fist. French Prime Minister Edward Philippe announced on Tuesday that he would suspend fuel tax hikes. Last weekend, a major U-turn in Paris in an attempt to quell a radical and chaotic protest movement. (AP Photo / Cloud Paris)
Haddad explains, “During the Gilts protest, some protesters were sharing posts with names and addresses for law enforcement and on social media.” There were many death threats against him, and some police officers were attacked at home. ”
The Global Security Law is an extension of the efforts led by police unions after the police protection movement to allow the police to be safe and do their jobs safely.
Haddad also argues that the recent civil unrest and promises to rewrite the law are examples of where democracy works.
“I think the government is listening to the reaction and discussion of the people and will take more time to explain the bill and involve more groups.” “This is a really friendly and divisive issue, and you have to get involved as much as possible when you are drafting this security bill, and it’s a good idea to take a step back and listen to the outrage,” he said.
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However, despite the uncertainty about Article 24 of the Global Security Act, other problematic sections remain in the bill. Article 21 allows the police to film their interactions with civilians and Article 22 allows the police to use drone technology to monitor people.
“It does not matter that the rest of the law, including the problematic articles 21 and 22 on body-worn cameras and drones, will continue,” said Western European researcher Karthik Raj. On Human Rights Watch.
