France to the EU: Don’t tell us how to run our police force

Paris has an answer to Brussels’ concerns over police violence: It’s none of your business.

“I’m going to be very clear,” France’s State Secretary for Europe Laurence Boone said in a video clip of a hearing at the French Senate published Friday on Boone’s Twitter account. “It’s not up to [Justice Commissioner] Didier Reynders or the European Commission to take an interest in the way France manages its police force.”

In an interview on Belgian radio on Wednesday, Reynders said there was a need to “reflect on [French] policing” given the “striking level of violence” the country has witnessed over the past few years, which culminated in a week of riots after the death of a teenager, Nahel M., who was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop.

“We need to examine the very high level of violence, because it sometimes poses a challenge in the behavior of a certain number of police officers — as we’ve seen from the dramatic situations that have occurred,” Reynders said.

That also applied, he added, to “the behavior of people, who have the right to demonstrate freely — it’s a fundamental right — but not to loot stores, destroy businesses or destroy public property.”

This is the latest escalation of an ongoing spat between Paris and international organizations over the management of the French police.

Last week, a spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) called on France to “seriously address the deep issues of racism and discrimination in law enforcement” after the killing of Nahel M.

The French Foreign Ministry was quick to react — and denied any instances of racism within the French police.

“Any accusation of racism or of systemic discrimination by law enforcement agencies in France is completely groundless,” the ministry said in a statement.