Toulouse: Republican reconquest gently with the children of Mirail and their families
The national police have opened their own outdoor center in the south of Toulouse with the aim of forging a bond of trust between the youth of the neighborhoods and the police.
The volleyball game is gaining in intensity, on the edge of the Daniel-Pescheur circuit (ex-Candie), chemin de Saudrune, south of Toulouse. The policemen smoke themselves at the game. Small adjustment steps, controlled skids, they deliver caviars to the kids of the youth recreation center 31 (CLJ) managed by the departmental directorate of public security. Children in CM1 or CM2 class, all of whom attend Mirail, hit the ball with maximum energy. Laughter bursts out but everyone carefully follows the evolution of the score. Little Malak, 10, takes a break.
“The challenges (competition on all the games and workshops, editor’s note), that’s really what I prefer. Even more than the visit to the scientific police”, she asserts. For only 4 euros per day, 12 lucky little ones spend spring holidays without downtime. Big advantage: they don’t have to move to go to the center. The police charter a minibus to pick them up in their neighborhood. On the program: traffic education, introduction to rollerblading, football, flag rugby, volleyball, badminton, basketball, table tennis, archery, as well as tours and demonstrations of the police services most taken by the youngest.
Fascinated by police dogs
“When we take them to see the dogs of the canine brigade, it’s a great moment. They are absolutely fascinated by what these animals achieve”, smiles Major Myriam who co-directs the center open since February 28, 2022. “We is in the start-up phase but we intend to increase our reception capacities. Probably to increase to 24 quickly if the mayonnaise takes, “hopes the policewoman. At the same time, she leads the road safety brigade which visits Toulouse schools every year to show schoolchildren the correct behavior to have on a bicycle.
Over time, she has been able to build an impressive network with teachers. “It made it easy to get in touch with the parents. The feedback on the first session is excellent. Families gave us cakes at the time of the Eid holiday,” says the major. This is exactly one of the objectives of the CLJ 31: to promote rapprochement, cohesion between this young public, the families and the police, by weaving a relationship of trust and by making it possible to evaluate the perception of the institutions. A form of republican reconquest in short, softer but whose effects will undoubtedly be deeper and over the long term.