Reform of the judicial police: in Toulouse, magistrates and lawyers incriminate the police
About fifty police officers, magistrates and lawyers met this Monday in front of the Toulouse courthouse. They were protesting against the reform of the judicial police.
The image is strong. Magistrates, lawyers and members of the judicial police unite to hold a banner on which the message is clear: the reform of the PJ must not come into force in this form. This scene takes place on the steps of the Toulouse courthouse this Monday, October 17. The national association of the PJ (ANPJ) had promised a collective action and the bet is successful. “We will not stop our mobilization until the situation changes,” assures Laurent, one of the members of the ANPJ. These investigators specializing in the fight against serious crime, serial crime, organized trafficking, money laundering and white-collar crime clearly feel threatened. “We intend to use the staff of the judicial police to carry out missions necessarily devolved to public security. It is a misinterpretation. By proceeding in this way, investigations which require time and real expertise will be neglected”, considers Christine Khaznadar, the regional delegate of the Union of Magistracy.
Since the beginning of this struggle, the demonstrators have expressed above all their fear of seeing the power of investigation concentrated in the hands of a single person. “If a politician is prosecuted for a financial history, it should not be surprising that the investigation stops. This centralized operation could protect certain white-collar offenders”, fears another police officer from the ANPJ.
All promise to organize themselves for a new gathering.