PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of French police officers protested near the National Assembly on Wednesday to demand the government get tough on violence against the security forces, with some booing the interior minister who turned up in a show of solidarity.
The discontent within the police will trouble President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to show voters he is strong on law and order ahead of next year’s election, when the far-right leader Marine Le Pen is expected to mount the biggest challenge.
Police unions complain that the government is failing to protect officers from daily attacks that leave some afraid of doing their jobs in certain towns and cities.
“This can’t go on any longer. You really need to protect us. It’s getting worse,” one officer could be heard telling Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The protest took place after a month-long period which saw a policeman killed during an anti-narcotics operation and a police force employee stabbed to death outside her commissariat.