He will have to explain himself from 9 a.m. before the law commission of the National Assembly, then at 11 a.m. before that of the Senate. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, will be heard on Wednesday, April 5, on the use of force by the police and the gendarmes both during the demonstrations against the pension reform in the country and during the violent clashes in Saint- Soline (Deux-Sevres).
As he has been doing for ten days, as the demonstrations against the pension reform have hardened, Gérald Darmanin will try to demonstrate that the police and gendarmes do not use excessive force. He will repeat that if there is violence, it is the work of the "thugs" and the "ultra-left" who, according to him, want to "bring down democracy".
In his viewfinder, the activists and elected officials of La France insoumise (LFI), starting with Jean-Luc Mélenchon who in his eyes show "a very worrying complacency" with regard to the violence of certain demonstrators.
In the Sunday newspaper, the minister denounced "the intellectual terrorism of the far left which consists in overturning values: the thugs would become the attacked and the police the aggressors". The deputy LFI Ugo Bernalicis, member of the law commission of the Assembly, very advanced on the files of the Interior, should not fail to reply to him.
Critics from all sides
Especially since criticism of the maintenance of order does not come only from the left, but also from associations, lawyers, magistrates, the Council of Europe and a United Nations special rapporteur. Rights defender Claire Hédon is also worried. The independent institution has been seized of 90 complaints, mainly for fifteen days, after the government's recourse to 49.3 to have the pension reform project adopted.
At the end of the minister's hearing, the Assembly's law commission will have to decide on the petition calling for the dissolution of the BRAV-M, this motorcycle unit specializing in maintaining order in Paris, and much criticized. This petition has collected just over 262,000 signatures. The LFI deputies would like this examination in committee to be postponed to give this petition time to prosper. To be admissible, a petition must reach 500,000 signatures.
At 11 a.m., the Senate committee will hear Gérald Darmanin more particularly on the violent clashes of March 25, in Sainte-Soline, between gendarmes and opponents of a water reserve for agricultural irrigation. According to the authorities, forty-seven gendarmes were injured during this prohibited gathering. Among the demonstrators, two hundred wounded, including forty seriously, have been identified by the organizers and one of them is still in a coma. According to the public prosecutor of Rennes, the vital prognosis of this injured 34-year-old in a coma "remains engaged".
