Members of the police union Alliance will be taking to the streets in Paris starting from Place de la Bastille this Saturday, January 31. They are protesting against their working conditions in often run-down facilities, chronic understaffing, and are advocating for a better public perception of their profession.
At Alliance, when discussing the dirtiness and dilapidation of police stations, they ironically refer to it as a «national sport«. On social media platform X, the union posts multiple photos showing several dilapidated police stations in the Île-de-France region. «Shack? Squat? No, police station,» reads a post accompanied by photos of the 18th arrondissement station.
«Working in these types of facilities is not humane. At first, young recruits arrive motivated, but after a few months, they lose motivation and it’s normal. No one wants to work in dirty premises,» notes the officer.
In addition to infrastructure problems, Alliance police officers also denounce a lack of human resources. «Our colleagues need more support. This could take the form of a third team member for those patrolling in pairs. It’s important because we often feel alone when faced with certain behaviors of delinquents,» recounts the anonymous officer.
«We suffer from a glaring lack of staff in Île-de-France. We have far too many police officers doing work that is not theirs, such as guarding courtrooms at the Paris tribunal, or guarding administrative detention centers. These are resources that could be deployed in the field but are not,» says the Alliance leader for Île-de-France. «The same goes for the railway network brigade in Île-de-France, where four times more staff than what we currently have would be needed to protect all the region’s train stations,» he concludes.
Aside from human resources, the police union advocates for more material resources, especially cars.
«The car renewal plan has not been honored since 2021. As a result, many colleagues find themselves without a vehicle,» says Yvan Assioma, Alliance Police Nationale representative for Île-de-France. In Kremlin-Bicêtre, in Val-de-Marne, «police officers had to patrol on foot for 4 to 6 months because they had no available vehicle,» details Yvan Assioma.
The union highlights the importance of implementing more psychological support structures for police officers.
«We sometimes find colleagues in deplorable states depending on the intensity of their day. We see extreme situations every day. Some even consider suicide. Others act on it. More support is needed to prevent these situations,» confides the Parisian officer.
Finally, Alliance demands better recognition of the police profession. «We see more and more people expressing their disdain for the police, especially on social media, but these are the same people who will call on us as soon as they have a problem,» notes the anonymous officer. «A better legal arsenal is needed to strengthen the legitimacy and protection of police officers,» agrees Yvan Assioma.
Alliance police officers have launched an online petition on the Change.org website. They denounce «a constant increase in missions, without the human, material, and budgetary resources necessary to carry them out under good conditions«. In 2025, 13 billion euros were allocated to the national police. Alliance calls on the State to increase this budget.
Deja una respuesta