THE remand of a French policeman in the city of Marseille sparked new controversy today weeks after violent riots, with the left lambasting a call from police chiefs for the officer to be freed.

France was rocked by over a week of riots that began last month over the killing of 17-year-old Nahel M. by a policeman during a traffic check outside Paris. The officer has been charged and jailed ahead of trial.

In the incident in Marseille, a man named Hedi, 21, said he was beaten by four or five men he identified as police during unrest in the city over the death of Nahel earlier this month.

He said he was also hit in the head by a blast ball fired by police. He underwent operations and has gone home but risks losing sight in one eye, said his lawyer.

Four police were charged last week over the incident, one of whom was remanded in custody ahead of trial.

“Knowing he is in prison is stopping me from sleeping,” said France’s national police chief Frederic Veaux in an interview with the Le Parisien newspaper published today.

“In general, I believe ahead of a possible trial, a police officer should not be in prison, even if he may have committed serious faults or errors in the course of his work,” he said.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez tweeted that he shares Veaux’s stance. 

A union source, who asked not to be named, said several hundred Marseille police officers have gone on sick leave in a sign of protest over the officer’s detention. 

Others responded to the call of the SGP Police Unit union and put themselves under so-called “code 562”, which means they only respond to emergency and essential missions. 

But hard-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said France’s leaders were refusing to call on the police “to respect the law” and police were instead given a green light to “wage war”.

“It’s extremely serious, the entire police hierarchy places itself above justice and the rules of pre-trial detention,” said Socialist Party chief Olivier Faure.

“What is at stake here is democracy and respect for the rule of law. Parliament must be reconvened urgently,” he said. – AFP, July 24, 2023.