An aggressive man on board a Milan-Annecy-Paris route was overpowered by a plainclothes policeman from the Paris police headquarters on Thursday at midday. This policeman, who was traveling with his weapon thanks to the “travel-protect” device, was able to intervene quickly.
A big scare, Thursday July 13 for the passengers of a TGV Milan-Annecy-Paris. An aggressive man on board a Milan-Annecy-Paris TGV was overpowered by a plainclothes policeman from the Paris police headquarters, franceinfo learned from the SNCF.
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According to the Chalon-sur-Saône prosecutor’s office, the man, agitated, failed to be controlled by the controllers, who therefore called in a plainclothes policeman. “armed with his weapon” and present on board the train. This policeman who works in the Paris region showed up with his armband before trying to arrest the suspect. The latter was finally disembarked at Le Creusot station.
The police officer circulated as part of the “travel-protect” device. Here is what it consists of.
The policeman has a discount and a voucher that is equivalent to free
The plainclothes policeman from Milan-Annecy-Paris was traveling as part of the “travel-protect” system. This measure, taken on the decision of the Minister of the Interior, is the culmination of an old claim by the national police, who wanted to benefit from a system similar to that of the gendarmes.
Since January 1, 2022, active personnel of the national police can benefit from reduced rates on the SNCF TGV and Intercités network. In exchange, they must be ready to intervene in case of danger.
This offer is available for daily trips between home and work, but also on private journeys, on the SNCF TGV and Intercités network Until 2022, coverage was 75% for TGV Inoui and the Intercités and 50% for the Ouigo. It is now 90% for Inoui and Intercités. The police officer also benefits from a voucher of 200 euros, valid for one calendar year, usable on several trips (with the exception of the Ouigo) and allowing him to cover the rest to be paid.
In exchange, he must be armed, report himself and be ready to intervene
To benefit from it, the police officer must present himself to the captain before boarding the train and meet certain criteria: carry his service weapon “discreetly”, have with him his professional card and his Police armband, his handcuffs, and possibly his bulletproof vest. specify that only police officers authorized to carry a weapon can benefit from the device, and that they must neither be the subject of a temporary exclusion nor be on leave or on sick leave.
In the case of a trip other than the home-to-work journey, the police officer must first have made a declaration of carrying an off-duty weapon, in writing, to his department head.
The police officer can intervene on his own initiative or at the request of the skipper
The circular from the General Directorate of the National Police (DGPN) of December 2021 specifies in which cases the police must intervene: “in the event of the commission of a crime or a flagrant offence, to provide assistance to any person in danger, to prevent or repress an act likely to disturb security and public order or damage property”.
The police officer can intervene at the request of the skipper or one of the controllers if the latter notices a danger. He can also intervene on his own initiative and assess the conditions of intervention “in view of its means, the situation and the confined and mobile environment of the train”.
When intervening, the police officer must wear his armband and, if equipped, his bulletproof vest.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been 37 police interventions on trains
In February 2023, a man who threatened to commit an attack on a Colmar-Paris route was arrested by one of these plainclothes and armed police officers. In all, since the beginning of the year, the police have intervened 37 times on trains. A figure that has risen to 80 since the start of the implementation of the system, including a dozen which led to an arrest for acts of violence, threats, sexual touching and harassment. In all, more than 240,000 trips under the “travel-protect” system have been reserved by police since 2022.