The key facts
- The Alliance union filed a liability lawsuit against the French state over the recent violence
- Union representative Stanislas Goudon criticized '20 years of absence of political courage' in security policy
- Protests continue across the country: a curfew, new demonstrations over the weekend and a general strike on November 5
Police union's lawsuit against the state
The French national police union Alliance is filing a liability lawsuit against the French state. The union claims that the authorities created the conditions that led to the recent wave of violence, thereby endangering people's lives, including officers of the national police. Among the grounds cited are 'competing orders', the deprivation of the ability to use intermediate (non-lethal) means, as well as insufficient training of units for maintaining public order.
Criticism of security policy
Alliance representative Stanislas Goudon, in a comment to Euronews, criticized what he called '20 years of absence of political courage' on the part of successive French governments on security issues, which, in the union's view, contributed to the failures in maintaining order over the past weekend.
Context of the protests
Last week, France saw a series of protests, demonstrations and outbreaks of violence across the country, which began with student actions for better conditions. In a number of places, a temporary curfew was imposed. New demonstrations are planned for the coming weekend, and the trade unions have called for a general strike on November 5.
