A little moment of history should take place on Monday, October 18 in Paris. On the forecourt of the Town Hall, 154 new police officers will meet in front of the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo. For everyone, the same blue uniform and, Covid-19 requires, a white mask with a “municipal police” badge.
After years of debates, reversals, political negotiations and then technical preparation, Paris will thus induct the first promotion of its municipal police. Like almost all other large agglomerations, the largest city in France will now have its own police. The end of a particularism dating back to 1800.
Very quickly, the new police officers will be distributed among the districts. “In the 15e, we should have about twenty, rejoices Nicolas Jeanneté, the elected Republicans (LR) in charge of the subject. They will not be too many, while not a weekend goes by without a fight. ” For them, the arrondissement town hall has a clear message : “Your priority is not to tax dog poop. You have to show yourself in the streets, in sensitive corners, to reassure people. “
The beginnings of this municipal police force, which was to become the first in France, turned out to be less spectacular than expected. “Childbirth is long and difficult”, Judge Hervé Tempier, of the CFTC. Initially, the town hall hoped to display a first promotion of at least 200 police officers. “We had selected 210, says Nicolas Nordman, Anne Hidalgo’s deputy in charge of security. But with the Covid, we had to review the size of the rooms. Then officers stopped during training, some were not passed the final exam, and some were not sworn in by the state. “ One of the agents trained in Paris also chose to join the police force of Charenton-le-Pont (Val-de-Marne).
“5,000 agents at the end of the mandate”
Result: instead of 210 police officers, Anne Hidalgo will only double down on 154. And contrary to her ambition, the strict parity aimed at between police officers and policewomen is not there. “For this promotion, we are more like 70% men and 30% women”, recognizes Michel Felkay, the director of the Parisian police.
After this mixed start, the city wants to pick up the pace. Anne Hidalgo has displayed the ambition to have “5,000 agents at the end of the mandate”, in 2026. In reality, this figure covers two types of personnel. On the one hand, 1,600 square guards, mediators, etc., whose situation has not changed. On the other hand, 3,400 police officers properly so called: municipal agents who were already in charge of security and are trained in three and a half months, and newcomers, recruited for the occasion and trained for six months.
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