“Further investigation”. Domestic violence: when the attacker wears the uniform

“Any police officer convicted of domestic violence must no longer be in contact with the public, pending a decision from the disciplinary council,” announced Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin after the femicide of Chahinez Daoud in 2021. How are these measures applied? How do police officers and gendarmes manage the issue of violence against women within their own ranks?

It all started with an electric shock: in May 2021, Chahinez Daoud, 31, mother of three children, was burned to death by her violent husband. We learned two months later that the police officer who had received one of his complaints of domestic violence had himself just been convicted for the same acts.

Faced with the indignation caused by this feminicide, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, then announced unprecedented measures: any police officer convicted of domestic violence must no longer be in contact with the public, pending a decision of the disciplinary council.

Abuse of authority, esprit de corps… How to make yourself heard?

Two years after these announcements and the instructions that followed, how are these measures applied? How do police officers and gendarmes manage the issue of violence against women within their own ranks?

“Additional investigation” discovered that in certain police stations and gendarmes, political intentions are not always followed by effects.

The magazine also collected the testimony of women victims of their police or gendarme spouses: abuse of authority, threat of weapons, esprit de corps, they recount the difficulty, sometimes, of making themselves heard within institutions.

An investigation by Sophie Boutboul, Ilioné Schultz and Thomas Lhoste with France.tv presse.

In the red armchairs: Christelle Ramière, whose sister was murdered by her ex-police partner.

The editorial staff of “Complément d’investigation” invites you to comment on the program on Facebook or on Twitter with the hashtag #ComplementDenquete.

> Replays of France Télévisions news magazines are available on the Franceinfo website and its mobile application (iOS & Android), “Magazines” section.


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