Report Reveals Systemic Racism in French Police Force, Calls for Reform

Transmitted to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and his colleague, Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti in July 2021, a highly documented confidential report on "the fight against discrimination in the action of the security forces" of 160 pages denounces the structural incapacity of the French police pyramidal organization to promptly take into account the issue of racism of some of its members.

To read:

"The reported facts most often concern remarks or insults, which frequently manifest inappropriate humor or remarks made in a fit of anger but which sometimes also reveal worrying prejudices, which are expressed both towards colleagues and the public," the study specifies, noting that whether it is internal or external discrimination, the mission is quite critical of the administrative response.

Based on the results of this study, the intermediate hierarchy is invited to report more the facts it is aware of, in particular to justice, a very rare practice to date. The public authorities are, for their part, invited to "strengthen their efforts in the fight against discrimination" and to "sanction the officers who would fail to report discriminatory acts". The authors of the study also call for working towards a police institution accessible to a "greater openness" to civil society, which further diversifies its recruitment.