Beauvau of the municipal police: “We must remain in our missions”, affirms Jean-Michel Weiss, in Nîmes

Jean-Michel Weiss, Jean-Luc Pena et Didier Ricard ont rencontré les policiers municipaux à Nîmes Midi Libre – C.R.

Jean-Michel Weiss, national secretary of the FA-FPT union, represents municipal police officers. This Thursday, April 11, he met his colleagues in Nîmes.

The stakes are high for municipal police officers. Since April 5, 2024, the unions representing municipal police officers – including the Autonomous Federation of the Territorial Civil Service – participate in "Beauvau" municipal police.

This Thursday, Jean-Michel Weiss, the national secretary of the FA-FPT in charge of the municipal police accompanied by Jean-Luc Pena (Nîmes) and Didier Ricard (Les Angles) were in Nîmes. They presented to their municipal police colleagues this cycle of consultations relating to the modernization of municipal police which took place at the Ministry of Justice. Jean -Michel Weiss is also the director of the municipal police in La-Grande-Motte.

During these four meetings at the national level, "we will address the demands of municipal police officers and rural guards, concerning pensions, index scales, bonuses & quot;, recalls Jean-Michel Weiss. Other equally important themes such as the obligation or not for municipal police officers to be armed in towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants or the judicial skills of municipal police officers will be addressed. Ultimately, these discussions should result in new legislative texts.

"Today, we have a delegate minister, Dominique Faure, who is committed to working with the municipal police unions, notes le national secretary. Municipal police officers are therefore waiting for concrete progress. But, in the meantime, Stanislas Guerini, Minister of the Civil Service, announced the possibility of dismissing civil servants. "We are therefore far from adhering to this government which is having the greatest difficulty in discussing with the unions", recalls Jean-Michel Weiss.

A need "for simplification"

Trade unionists recall the difficulties linked to their profession. "We are the first arrivals on the interventions. In Nîmes, we work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And at 64, you can find yourself ending your career chasing young people at rodeos. For 2 200 €. This is no longer possible, insist the union representatives who highlight the expectations of the profession and the inconsistencies in the exercise of their functions. "For certain facts, when a mayor issues a municipal decree, the municipal police officer who notes non-compliance with this decree must make a report to the office which is transmitted to the police national… Who transmits it to the public prosecutor. It’s time consuming. We are less efficient, recalls Jean-Michel Weiss. There is a need to simplify procedures, to move the legal arsenal. Attention. Our union does not want an increase in its judicial powers. We can't do everything. I report to the mayor. We want to continue our local work, go into the field. This is what the population expects. We need to work better."

"We must stay on our missions"

The Olympic Games in Paris are also the subject of their concerns. "A large number of police officers and gendarmes are going to Paris. The municipal police will remain on site and will be in great demand. So we say be careful. Municipal police officers should not be auxiliaries. In Nîmes, we are on school outings at Mas de Mingue. We must establish a partnership, so that the State does not disengage. Lines were crossed during riots. Some of our colleagues had to protect themselves, wear a helmet to face attackers. We cannot do proximity and maintain order. Little by little, the legislator adds skills. However, all this must be done in consultation. We must stay on our missions."

In France, 58% of municipal police officers are armed

Of the 27,000 municipal police officers throughout France, 58% of them are armed. This is the case à Nîmes since 1982. The cities of Montpellier and Lyon then took the plunge. The cities of Bordeaux, Lille and Grenoble have not made this choice. The city of Nîmes has 150 municipal police officers engaged in the field (and around fifty frames).

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