Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre will succeed Commissioner Brigitte Jullien, appointed in 2019, who was notably confronted with numerous cases of police violence during the demonstrations of “yellow vests”.
A magistrate, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre, is to be appointed by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday to head the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN), hitherto led by police officers, we learned on Monday July 18 from sources familiar with the matter, confirming information from the Parisian.
The appointment of a personality from the judicial world to lead the “font of fonts“Comes as this institution is the subject of criticism, accused in particular of lacking independence in cases of police violence. Considered close to the current power, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre occupied for two years the post of justice adviser to the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin then, for six months, that of deputy chief of staff. Like her predecessors, she will be appointed by the Minister of the Interior and the IGPN will remain attached to the General Directorate of the National Police (DGPN). A statutory dependence often denounced by observers.
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The police will “fear the worst”
The idea of appointing an independent personality to head the IGPN was raised in November 2020 by Gérald Darmanin when the reform of the institution returned to the debate after a series of cases of police violence, including the violent arrest of Michel Zecler in Paris. Before joining the cabinet of Gérald Darmanin, Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre was for several years the communication officer of the former Paris prosecutor François Molins, in particular at the time of the attacks of 2015. She was also briefly spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice between 2019 and 2020.
Agnès Thibault-Lecuivre will succeed Commissioner Brigitte Jullien, appointed in 2019, who was notably confronted with numerous cases of police violence during the demonstrations of “yellow vests“. “I do not think that the appointment of a magistrate is well received in our ranks and is a good thing!“, reacted to AFP Frédéric Lagache, general delegate of the Alliance union. “Already our colleagues feared the IGPN headed by a policeman, then a magistrate, they will fear the worst“. “I hope that his appointment will make it possible to avoid the false trials in bias made to the IGPN“, for his part declared Grégory Joron, of the Unit-SGP union. “For the police, I don’t think it changes much“, he continued, “the IGPN already did not give gifts and did not cover the actions of the police“.
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