(Paris) French authorities denied on Tuesday that there had been unjustified arrests during recent protests against pension reform in Paris, as denounced by the opposition.
“There are no unjustified arrests, I can’t let that be said,” Paris police chief Patrick Nuñez said on BFMTV television, while unions of lawyers, magistrates and left-wing politicians denounced “arbitrary” police custody.
“We are arrested for offenses which, in our eyes, are constituted” and, once the placement in police custody has been decided by a judicial police officer (OPJ), “we have 48 hours to try to materialize the offense, c ‘is short,’ insisted the prefect of police.
“When we reach the end of 48 hours, sometimes we have not characterized the offense, we are in a state of law, it is happy and at that time, there are no prosecutions”, continued Laurent Nuñez.
According to the latest consolidated report from the Paris prosecutor’s office, 425 people were taken into police custody during the first three evenings of spontaneous demonstrations, from Thursday to Saturday. Only 52 of them were prosecuted at the end of the procedure.
Figures for Sunday and Monday evenings are not yet available, the prosecution said.
A total of 287 people, including 234 in Paris, were arrested Monday evening in France during a fifth consecutive evening of spontaneous demonstrations against the government’s decision to pass its pension reform in the assembly without a vote, according to a source. policewoman.
During this evening, a video widely relayed on social networks shows a police officer punching a protester in the face in Paris.
The prefect of police, who acknowledged that the gesture appeared on the images “inappropriate”, indicated that he had requested the opening of an administrative investigation to establish the course of the facts.
Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, equivalent to an ombudsman and who is responsible for defending the rights of citizens in France, said she was “concerned” and “worried” about the consequences of preventive arrests synonymous with deprivation of liberty and recalled the rules of ethics in the maintenance of order.
