The country experienced another night of violence after the death of young Nahel, killed by a policeman in Nanterre. The political class is torn apart over long-awaited divisions. Jean-Rémi Baudot’s political brief.
Beyond the emotion after the death of Nahel, 17, we must observe the political game that is taking place. The political class seized on this drama with a fairly classic choreography. From right to left, it is as if this death and the violence that followed came to accredit and confirm the political theses of each other.
>> Death of Nahel: burnt town halls, mortar fire and the smell of smoke… A look back at a night of tension and scuffles across France
It is perhaps on the left that the indignation is strongest. The members of the Nupes do not beat around the bush: for many, this drama comes to provide additional proof that “the police kill”, a slogan regularly used on the left. In detail, the boss of EELV, Marine Tondelier evokes “execution on the public highway by a policeman“of one”17 year old boy“, denouncing both “an Americanization of the police” And “a problem of racism“in its ranks.
The left is indignant, the right refuses to question the police
“Enough !“, engages the leader of La France insoumise. According to Jean-Luc Mélenchon, “this police must be completely overhauled”. LFI recalls having requested in December a “parliamentary commission of inquiry into the increase in deaths following refusals to comply”. No call for calm on this side of the political spectrum.
Unsurprisingly, the right and the extreme right are not on this line. A few minutes on a news channel will suffice for you to grasp the way in which each other is positioned. Without waiting for the results of the investigation, on the right and on the far right, the correlation is made between violence, delinquency and uncontrolled immigration. On the side of the National Rally, the leitmotif is support for police officers and police unions. At the RN, we call for the presumption of innocence for the police and we believe that the police are facing increasingly violent behavior.
The executive under public pressure
In reality, Marine Le Pen’s target was Emmanuel Macron and the comments he made in Marseille: “Inexplicable” And “inexcusable“, said the Head of State. The President – under public pressure – is trying to clear up a case that could set the suburbs ablaze. The specter of the 2005 riots is in everyone’s mind.
The majority therefore walk on eggshells. Not many of them spoke: the Renaissance spokesperson touring the TV sets for lack of Macronist deputies present to react.
The call for calm is the main position at the top of the state. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne spoke of a “absolute demand for truth“, when Gérald Darmanin called”to the calm and truth of the judicial inquiry“While keeping an eye on the security issue at the same time. The executive wants to avoid a conflagration.
The next few hours will be crucial. And the choreography should continue. The left should continue to denounce the attitude of the police; the right has denounced the irresponsibility of the left and those responsible for the violence… For the time being, no one is really providing solutions to the violence in the country, nor the malaise in the suburbs.