On May 26, Eric Ciotti, a member of the National Assembly (LR Group – conservative right) submitted a draft law, together with 27 MPs, which caused a massive outcry. The text aims at sanctioning anyone who would share images of law enforcement representatives in the public domain, either via social media or on TV, video platforms… According to Mr. Ciotti, the objective is to prevent attacks on police forces,“in a context of significant tensions linked to a mistrust of public authority and associated with an increase in daily violence.”<
This draft proposal comes at a time when accusations of police brutality emerge in the society, after months of protests led by Gilets Jaunes. In 2019, the General Inspection of National Police (IGPN), responsible for internal investigation in the police, opened 218 cases against officers accused of police violence. This figure is twice as bigger as in 2018. Many protesters and journalists raised the issue of police brutality during protests, while in recent days, a protest against the death of Adama Traore, in 2016 in a station of the gendarmerie, gathered more than 20 000 people in Paris.
Several MPs, including ones from Mr. Ciotti’s party (Les Républicains), told journalists that they will not support his bill.
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