Paris police chief Didier Lallement said he would leave his post Thursday, July 21 with "the pride of duty accomplished", in a letter addressed to the officers of the Paris Police Prefecture. Laurent Nunez, national coordinator of intelligence and the fight against terrorism, was appointed Wednesday, July 20 by the Council of Ministers to succeed him. “He is a firm man but also full of roundness. It's the best choice, "commented the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in an interview with Le Parisien.
"I leave with the pride of a job well done, but I keep hurting from the failure of the Stade de France. Certainly, that evening, we saved lives, but the reputation of the country was damaged. That the tricolor flag has been soiled is for me a pain and a responsibility that I must assume, ”wrote Mr. Lallement in his letter, which Agence France-Presse (AFP) read.
The departure of Mr. Lallement, in office since March 2019, is not linked to the Stade de France fiasco during the Champions League final at the end of May. Several weeks earlier, the prefect had announced to his troops that he would leave the Paris police headquarters this summer, no later than August 27, the date of his sixty-sixth birthday.
In his letter, he says he "requested that [his] duties be terminated", primarily because he believes he has "reached an age which is not compatible with high-intensity operational duties". "I want to be lucid: you don't command women and men when you are old enough to be a grandfather," he wrote. "I've had one attitude for almost three and a half years: walk ahead, don't hide in an office, and be with you as much as possible. Walking in front got me and still gets me hits, but it's as much that didn't hit you, ”said Mr. Lallement.
Donation of his cap to the Museum of the prefecture
On Twitter, Gérald Darmanin also paid "tribute" to Mr. Lallement "for his action, in difficult conditions, in a context of significant terrorist threat, at the head of the Prefecture of Police over the past three years. He brought honor to the Republic," he said.
"For three years, we had a real leader who embodied his duties as Paris police prefect in the spirit and strength of this institution," a senior official from the Paris police headquarters told AFP. Paris, who insisted on "his clear and far-sighted vision" and wanted to recall that he had been appointed in the difficult context of the "yellow vests" crisis.
This senior official from the Paris Prefecture of Police also referred to the "ordeals", in particular the attack in October 2019 perpetrated within the prefecture itself by one of the officials who worked there. Four people were then killed.
By way of farewell, Didier Lallement, who has always enjoyed being hated, "donated his uniform cap to the Museum of the Prefecture of Police". The body announced it by posting on its Twitter account a photo of the prefect, smiling, and the cap he wore with pride.
Highly conflicted relationships
The departure of Mr. Lallement, who had a very conflicted relationship with Ms. Hidalgo, was welcomed by the first deputy mayor, Emmanuel Grégoire. "Welcome to the new Prefect of Police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez!" We look forward to working with him and all the teams at the Prefecture of Police,” he tweeted.
"Didier Lallement is leaving. Good riddance. We don't forget the decapitated "yellow vests", the ripped off hands, the injured demonstrators, nor the abusive controls of the inhabitants of working-class neighborhoods, nor the return of the BRAV-M", tweeted the "rebellious" MP Mathilde Panot.
Lawyer Arié Alimi, who has intervened in numerous cases related to police violence, reminded AFP of "the excess and the violence assumed in terms of communication, a focus on his person to act as a scarecrow and look away of the executive".
