Tuesday, November 17, 2020

French security law: government crackdown on filming the police causes outrage

2020-11-17 14:44 

 

French bill banning images of police worries activists and journalists

Issued on: 17/11/2020 -
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has said the controversial clause in the new bill is needed to “protect those who protect us”. © Thomas Coex, AFP / file picture

Text by:FRANCE 24

French lawmakers will begin debating a controversial bill on Tuesday that proposes a ban on the publication of images showing law enforcement officers. The bill has drawn sharp criticism from media outlets and activist groups who say it would violate principles of press freedom and the public’s right to be informed.

The bill's Article 24, which has been dubbed the “guerre des images” (war of images) in France, is aimed at “protecting those who protect us” by banning anyone – journalists and civilians alike – from publishing or broadcasting images in which on-duty police officers or gendarmes can be clearly identified for what the bill calls "malicious purposes".

The clause was first proposed by an MP for President Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche (LREM) party after police unions lobbied for it. The purpose of the bill "is to forbid any calls for violence or reprisals against officers and their families" in videos on social media, another LREM MP, Alice Thourot, told France Inter radio.

Critics, however, say the ban would essentially censor journalists by outlawing an activity that could be essential to their work. Images documenting police brutality or misconduct could also fall under the rubric of the ban. 

The January death of Cédric Chouviat, a delivery driver in Paris who suffered a heart attack and died after police put him in a chokehold, shined a spotlight on France's own demons. In the wake of George Floyd protests in the United States, France faced unprecedented protests against police brutality and racism over the summer. 

According to international NGO Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières or RSF), the clause “clearly violates the principles of press freedom and the public’s right to be informed”.

Read more: As George Floyd protests spread, France confronts its own demons

Civilians would also be prevented from sharing such images on social media. A Change.org petition protesting the ban had on Tuesday garnered more than 80,000 signatures.

Should the proposal – which will require approval from both France’s upper and lower houses – go through, offenders would face up to one year in prison and a €45,000 fine.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

French MPs tackle controversial clampdown on filming police

Issued on: 17/11/2020 - 
French police have long been accused of using heavy-handed tactics. A protestor in lawyer's garb holds a sign reading "Police, who will protect us when you misbehave ?" during a rally against the comprehensive security bill debated in parliament. 

STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN AFP

Paris (AFP)

The publication of police officers' faces unless blurred could become illegal in France, under legislation debated in parliament Tuesday and which critics say risks discouraging attempts to document abuses of authority.

France's security forces have long faced accusations of using brutal tactics when dealing with protesters, but also when confronting or arresting individuals, in particular from black or Arab minorities.

A series of incidents caught on video and spread on social media have spurred calls for reform, which gained momentum this year with the "Black Lives Matter" movement in the US following the death of George Floyd.

But police say they are increasingly under personal threat as they struggle to carry out President Emmanuel Macron's promise to reduce crime and insecurity, especially in the rough housing blocks surrounding Paris and other cities.

An attack on a police station outside Paris last month, by dozens of people armed with fireworks and steel bars, galvanised the government to vow concrete measures to protect officers and improve working conditions.

A new "comprehensive security" law from Macron's centrist government proposes reforms such as giving more autonomy to local police -- and potentially arming more of them -- and expanding the use of surveillance drones in high-crime areas.

But last month, his rightwing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin supported a measure long sought by police unions, making it a crime to show images of an officer's face unless it has been made blurry.

Publication on social media or elsewhere with the intent of undermining an officer's "physical or psychological integrity" could be punished by a year in prison or fines of up to 45,000 euros ($53,000).

- 'War of images' -

Darmanin says the measure would "protect those who are protecting us," especially in poor neighbourhoods where tensions often run high between law enforcement and immigrant communities.

The law's co-author Jean-Michel Fauvergue, a former head of France's elite RAID police unit, rejected claims that police were getting new protections from criticism.

"In no way does this stop journalists from working," Fauvergue said at a press conference Tuesday.

He said the law would only punish publication of an officer's face "with messages calling for hate or violence".

Journalists and rights activists are not convinced, saying the stricter rules would effectively work as a "gag law," similar to a measure in force in Spain since 2015, that would hinder attempts to hold police accountable.

An open letter this month signed by journalists across France, including some from Agence France-Presse, urged lawmakers to reject the new image limits, and protests have been called for outside parliament on Tuesday.

"There's reason to fear that officers who already often try to prevent filming or photographs of their interventions in public areas, including through the use of force -- despite it being perfectly legal -- will feel even more empowered to do so," they wrote.

A letter from The UN Human Rights Council this month also warned French authorities the proposal "could discourage, even punish those who could supply elements of potential human rights violations by law enforcement, and provide a sort of immunity."

Critics point in particular to the hundreds of violence complaints filed against officers during the "yellow vest" anti-government rallies that erupted in 2018, which saw fierce clashes between protesters and police that made headlines worldwide.

In July, three officers were charged with manslaughter over the death of a delivery man, Cedric Chouviat, who was filmed by bystanders as officers had him in a chokehold after his arrest for a traffic offence in Paris.

Chouviat said "I'm suffocating" seven times before his body went limp.

"Black Lives Matter" also fuelled mass protests this summer against alleged police violence in France, particularly over the 2016 death in custody of a 24-year-old black man, Adama Traore.

Medical experts have exonerated the officers who arrested Traore, but his family has contested the findings, saying he was a victim of choking.

France's human rights auditor has also warned of "considerable risks" from the new law, saying it "must not impede on freedom of the press, nor on freedom of information."

"The publication of images regarding police interventions are legitimate and necessary for a democracy to function," the Defenseur des Droits said.

© 2020 AFP


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