Benoît Digeon is rather satisfied with the measures announced but calls for 30 additional police officers.
“I have answers on everything except police numbers”, lamented Friday October 27 on franceinfo Benoît Digeon, Les Républicains mayor of Montargis (Loiret), while the government announced Thursday its sovereign response to the riots in June that occurred after the death of Nahel, 17, for a refusal to ‘obey. The Prime Minister presented a social component on Friday in Chanteloup-les-Vignes (Yvelines) during an interministerial Committee of Cities, postponed several times. Benoît Digeon distributed some good points to the government and highlighted the systems that work “Alright” in its municipality, in particular that of the Priority Districts of the city (QPV). He calls for “amplify the movement”.
franceinfo: In the measures announced by the government to respond to the difficulties of the municipalities after the riots, are you taking everything?
Benoît Digeon: I have answers on everything except police numbers. We still have a big deficit of 30 police officers in Montargis.
“We have nothing to defend ourselves with. We need deterrence, we need the police. Mr Macron said ‘order, order, order’. I say ‘the police, the police, police’.”
Benoît Digeon, LR mayor of Montargisat franceinfo
We must not be forgotten about this. Mr. Darmanin was kind enough to quote Montargis on Thursday in his speech. But I would prefer that he not quote me and give me the 30 extra police officers.
Is the renovation of degraded condominiums a good thing?
In certain co-ownerships we actually have balance problems. People no longer pay their charges. Financial administrators are appointed to manage the co-ownerships. It’s not going too bad, it’s difficult, but we’re managing to get back on track. The state helps us a lot on this. I have nothing to say. It is very good.
How do you judge the city’s priority neighborhoods (QPV) system?
We need to amplify. There’s not much to touch. We simply need to amplify the movement. We have three QPVs in the city. We have systems for schools and colleges which are excellent. There is nothing to say. I have just been doing this analysis for three months. We had a college where a lot of thugs used to hang out. It’s finish ! There is zero tolerance for delays in schooling. The children follow, the parents follow. There is extracurricular activity which is adapted by the college. There are split classes for people who come from sectors in difficulty. We descend towards the person more and more. There are small groups of twelve or fifteen, which is better than a class of 30 students.
What are you doing to integrate young people through sport?
We have a lot of extracurricular activities. We have 4,000 members in the city, in all sports clubs, football, boxing and rugby. Boxing, which has just been established next to a college, has tremendous demand. Young people want to come to a modern sport. It allows you to channel time and energy outside of school.
Which of the government security announcements convinced you the most?
I welcome the proposal from Mr. Barrot, the Minister of Digital Affairs, who proposed the digital ban for six months of young people who behave badly. There were eight times more people calling for calm than those calling for violence. People were sentenced without participating in the riots. Calling for violence is in itself a crime, it is reprehensible. We find people. It’s very good and I say bravo.