French police watchdog to probe alleged racist incident as housing estate tensions soar
Issued on:
France's IGPN internal police watchdog will investigate an incident of alleged racist behaviour by police officers in the Ile-Saint-Denis area near Paris, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Monday, as tension simmers on housing estates.
"A video showing a police intervention in the sector of Ile-Saint-Denis has led to legitimate indignation," Castaner wrote on his Twitter account early on Monday.
"All light will be shed on the matter. The IGPN has been alerted. Racism has no place in the Republican police force."
Une vidéo montrant une intervention de police dans le secteur de l’Île-Saint-Denis suscite une indignation légitime.
— Christophe Castaner (@CCastaner) April 26, 2020
Toute la lumière sera faite. L’IGPN est saisie.
Le racisme n’a pas sa place dans la police républicaine.
Stringent curbs on public movement ordered by President Emmanuel Macron to tackle the coronavirus outbreak have exacerbated deep-seated social tensions in the low-income, high-rise estates around the French capital.
🔴 GLAÇANT
— Taha Bouhafs (@T_Bouhafs) April 26, 2020
À L’ile-Saint-Denis très tôt ce matin(1h43), lors d’une interpellation des policiers repêchent un homme qui s’est jeté dans la Seine pour leur fuir, je vous laisse découvrir la suite : pic.twitter.com/vcqepo7NNZ
Violent clashes broke out last week between youths and police in several such areas, as well as other parts of the country, such as Roubaix in the north.
(REUTERS)
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe