Prime Minister Jean Castex denounced Tuesday as “unacceptable violence” the increase in attacks and death threats against elected officials before the debate in the National Assembly on the vaccine pass, promising to punish these “despicable acts”. “Any violence is unacceptable in a democratic society,” said Jean Castex, in response to a question from LREM deputy for Oise Pascal Bois, whose garage was burnt down last week.
“But when it comes to custodians of public authority, custodians of universal suffrage, then recourse to violence is democracy, the republican pact that it comes to threaten,” he stressed. “There is no other way than repression in the face of these despicable acts,” added the head of government.
Attacks that multiply
Attacks and death threats have multiplied in recent weeks, mainly against members of the majority who must approve this week the transformation of the health pass into a vaccination pass. In recent days, several of them have posted on social networks the death threats they have received, including that of “beheading in the public square” and announced their intention to file a complaint.
The elected representatives of the majority demand a “unanimous condemnation” of tweets like that of the pro-Frexit presidential candidate Florian Philippot who has promised to “communicate extensively on the names of the culprits”, in other words the deputies who will approve the pass sanitary. Faced with these threats, the President (LREM) of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand must make a “precise point” in January with the Interior Ministers Gerald Darmanin and Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti. The date has not yet been set.
A referent appointed to the Assembly
A referent was appointed at the end of November within the services of the National Assembly to “collect reports” and “advise” elected officials. But the attacks are not limited to deputies: at the end of November, the car of the mayor LR of Briançon Arnaud Murgia was set on fire.
The president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) David Lisnard then made an “undeniable observation: there is an increase in attacks against mayors or their deputies, whether physical, verbal or psychological”. The president of the AMF is also due to meet with Mr. Dupond-Moretti soon.
Castex castigates oppositions after Monday’s coup
Monday evening, the government suffered a snub in the hemicycle by seeing the deputies refuse to continue in the night the examination of the bill transforming the health pass into a vaccination pass, which was to come into force on January 15.
This Tuesday, Jean Castex also protested against the “political coup” of the LR deputies, who voted Monday evening for the suspension of the examination in the Assembly of the vaccine pass, deeming their attitude “not responsible”. “The virus is galloping and you are pulling on the hand brake,” lamented Jean Castex at the opening of the questioning session to the government.