More Rage at the French Police

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/opinion/more-rage-at-the-french-police.html

Version 0 of 1.

France’s suburbs, home to many poor immigrants, are once again gripped by unrest after the police were accused of beating a young black man and raping him with a truncheon on Feb. 2. The incident comes as outrage has barely died down over the death in police custody in July of another young black man. And it conjures memories of riots that swept France after two minority teenagers were killed while fleeing the police in 2005. In both of the earlier cases, police officers faced no consequences.

An onlooker recorded the episode this month, and the victim lived to tell the tale. The four policemen involved have been suspended and charged with assault, and one has been charged with rape. Though the judiciary will have the final word, the French police have already concluded that the anal penetration with a baton was “not rape” because it was not “intentional.” Yet, the victim remains hospitalized with injuries from which he may never fully recover.

Successive French governments have allowed relations between minority youth and the police to degenerate to this point. New legislation will only make things worse. Parliament has passed a bill that would expand the circumstances under which police officers could use deadly force, and it would strengthen penalties for contempt of police. The police had pressed for more powers after four officers were injured, one severely, when a gang of youths set fire to a police car in a Parisian suburb in October.

President François Hollande visited the rape and assault victim last week, saying the judiciary “must be trusted to ensure that the truth is known.” But while Mr. Hollande promised during the 2012 campaign to end ethnic profiling, a recent study found that young minority men were 20 times as likely to have their identities checked than the general population. On Friday, Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux announced that, beginning on March 1, the police must use body cameras to film identity checks. But this long-overdue move may not be enough to quell current outrage.

The unrest is a gift to France’s right, about two months ahead of presidential elections. A government led by the National Front’s Marine Le Pen, who has vowed strong support for the police, would be unlikely to embark on the healing necessary for respectful interaction between the police and minorities.

The victim and his family have appealed for calm. But the best way to bring about peace is to bring about justice in this latest horrific case.