Updated: December 1, 2020 1:21:21 am
Protests against the new security law, in Paris on November 28 (Photo: AP)
More than 46,000 people gathered in Paris on Saturday to protest against France’s controversial new security law, which the lower house of the French parliament approved earlier this week.
The legislation, pushed by President Emmanuel Macron, seeks to grant greater powers and protections to police officers, and opposes civil liberties groups, journalists and migrant activists.
What does the proposed law seek to do?
Three articles of the bill, which have caused controversy, refer to the police being able to organize mass ground and air surveillance, while at the same time restricting the filming of police officers.
Articles 21 and 22 of the proposed “global security” law allow police and gendarmes (paramilitary forces) to use body cameras and drones to film citizens, and allow recorded images to be broadcast live to the command post .
Article 24 sanctions the publication “of the image of the face or any other element of identification” of a police or paramilitary official who is acting in “a police operation”, if the dissemination is made with “the intention of injuring his physical integrity. or psychic “. The punishment for the crime will be imprisonment for up to 1 year, with a maximum fine of 45,000 euros.
Also in Explained | Why France may soon pass a law banning accent discrimination
What do opponents of the law say?
Opponents of the new law have denounced what they describe as the tightening of the police response to protests in recent years, especially after the 2018 Yellow Vest demos.
Journalists and human rights groups have expressed concern that Article 24 would make it difficult to cover public events and record cases of police violence, making it more difficult to hold officers accountable. Its wording has also been criticized for being open, and journalists have worried about how the courts would interpret the term “intent to harm.”
Critics have highlighted two cases of police excesses during the week that attracted national attention, which they argue would not have been reported if the proposed law had been in effect.
The first occurred on Monday as French police cleared a temporary migrant camp in central Paris. Video footage showed officers using riot shields to shove people off before using tear gas, and some were seen chasing migrants down side streets. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, called the incident “unacceptable” and accused the police of using a “brutal and disproportionate use of force”. Gérald Darmanin, the harsh French interior minister, also called the videos “shocking.”
Protesters hold up a banner that reads ‘Police mutilates, police murders’ during a demonstration against the new security law in Paris on November 28 (Photo: AP).
Another video, which appeared on Thursday, showed police officers beating a black man behind closed doors for several minutes, prompting Macron to say that the footage from the video “embarrasses us.”
Civil liberties groups and left-wing parties have called the bill authoritarian and unnecessary, insisting that existing laws are sufficient to protect police officers. 📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram
What have supporters of the bill said?
The Macron government has insisted that it does not intend to target press freedom and that the new law is aimed at protecting police officers and their families from harassment and bullying online when off duty.
Aside from Macron’s centrist La République en Marche (LaRem) party, the bill has received support from the country’s conservative parties, allowing it to easily pass Tuesday in the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament in France. In January, the conservative-dominated French Senate will vote on the bill.
In particular, analysts have pointed to a shift to the right in the French electorate, especially in the wake of a series of recent terrorist attacks, including the October beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty and the stabbing attack in Nice. According to a Bloomberg report, a government-commissioned poll found that 58 percent of respondents supported the new security law.
Observers also say that Macron, who describes his policy as “neither right nor left,” and that he was with the Socialist Party until 2009, has increasingly tried to appeal to right-wing voters, especially before the presidential elections in early 2022.
Another controversial legal measure, Macron’s so-called “anti-separatism” bill, has been seen as part of this trend. The bill, which aims to crack down on Islamic radicalism, has caused concern among Muslims in France, with its measures including reforms in school education to ensure Muslim children do not drop out of school and tighter controls. about mosques and preachers.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
.
