According to the French President, the authorities must not allow hatred and racism to “flourish”
French President Emmanuelle Macron condemned the recent beating of a black French policeman and asked the government to make proposals to increase public confidence in law enforcement officers.
“The images of the attack on Michel Zeckler that we all saw are unacceptable. They will shit us”, – he wrote in an address posted on his Facebook page on Friday night. – “I ask the government to make immediate proposals aimed at reaffirming the bonds of trust that should naturally exist between the French and those who protect them, and to fight more effectively against all forms of discrimination.”
The French leader stated that the authorities must not allow “hatred and racism to flourish”. He pointed out that unjustified violence by some law enforcement officials, which undermines the credibility of other employees’ professionalism, is unacceptable. At the same time, Macron emphasised that he believes in exemplary relations between the police and citizens of the republic and stated that he would not tolerate violence against police officers and gendarmes.
The incident with dark-skinned producer Zekler took place on 21 November. He was walking down the street without a mask, in violation of French sanitary standards in connection with the Coronavirus pandemics. When he saw a police car, the man tried to hide from law enforcement in his studio to avoid being fined. However, the police officers followed him. When they entered the premises, according to the victim, they began beating and insulting him. After this incident, which ended up on video and spread out on the internet, the producer filed a complaint against the police accusing them of “excessive violence” and “racial insults”.