Christophe Castaner, May 27, 2020 in Paris. – Jacques Witt / SIPA
Christophe Castaner seized this Friday justice after the revelation of
racist messages published on Facebook in a private group bringing together members of the police, said the entourage of the Minister of the Interior.
“If proven, these unacceptable words are likely to seriously undermine the honor of the police and the national gendarmerie, whose men and women are hired on a daily basis to protect the French, including against racism and discrimination. This is why the Minister of the Interior decided to seize the public prosecutor “, it was said from the same source, after the revelation of these messages by Streetpress.
A group of 8,000 members
The online news site published an investigation on Thursday revealing the existence of a Facebook group “TN Rabiot Police Officiel”, presented as a discussion group reserved for the police and which would include 8,000 members.
According to the survey, a large number of hateful, racist, sexist, homophobic and vulgar messages are exchanged between participants. Screenshots published by Streetpress show messages mocking the deaths of young men at the wheel of their motocross or calling singer Camelia Jordana, who recently denounced the police violence, a “dirty whore”.
Checks in progress
The publication of these exchanges comes against a backdrop of worldwide indignation after the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American who was asphyxiated by a police officer, who revived the debate on France. police violence targeting minorities.
The Minister of the Interior applied to the Paris public prosecutor’s office under article 40 of the Penal Code, which requires “any constituted authority, any public officer or civil servant who, in the exercise of his functions, acquires knowledge of a crime or misdemeanor […] to give immediate notice to the public prosecutor “.
“As these are exchanges within a group on a social network, group on which we have no information, these elements must first of all be verified,” commented the entourage of the minister. Wednesday, Christophe Castaner had promised that “each fault, each excess, each word, including racist expressions” within the police would be “the subject of an investigation, a decision, a sanction”.
