▲ French Parliament
A bill promoted by the French parliament to presume the use of weapons by police officers and gendarmes as legitimate self-defense has sparked fierce backlash from human rights groups and some opposition parties, who denounce it as a "license to kill."
In early July, the French National Assembly passed a bill stipulating that "police officers and gendarmes who use firearms or weapons are initially presumed to have used them lawfully in compliance with the law."
Under current law, when casualties occur due to the use of weapons such as firearms by police or gendarmes, specific legal requirements must be retrospectively evaluated to recognize self-defense.
However, the amendment dictates that if police officers or gendarmes use weapons in accordance with legal requirements (absolute necessity and strict proportionality), such use is initially presumed to be self-defense.
Nevertheless, this presumption can be overturned if the investigation reveals that the use of the weapon was manifestly excessive or that the situation did not present absolute necessity.
Proponents of the bill argue that it is necessary to prevent police officers from hesitating to take required action out of fear that they might face criminal liability later in situations where they must use firearms.
The rationale is that when police respond to urgent threats such as terrorism, knife attacks, or vehicle ramming, protecting the lives of citizens and colleagues on the scene should take precedence over retrospective legal judgments.
The government, which supports the bill, also emphasizes that the measure does not give police a blank check, but rather aims to reduce the legal anxiety of police officers who have already made lawful use of force.
Following its approval by the National Assembly in early July, the bill was submitted to the Senate Committee on Legislation and is awaiting review.
However, human rights groups argue that the bill is tantamount to giving state power a "license to kill" and are attempting to block its review in the Senate.
They contend that by initially presuming the use of force by police to be lawful, the bill effectively shifts the burden of proving illegality onto the victims.
On this day, about 50,000 people took to the streets in the capital of Paris, as well as southern Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse, to protest against the bill.
Protesters marched while holding up placards reading "The greater the power, the worse the violence" and "Oppose the license to kill."
Lawmakers from the far-left party La France Insoumise (LFI) also participated in the protest held in Paris.
Mathilde Panot, the LFI group leader in the National Assembly, condemned the bill, stating, "The police are already killing people. We must block this bill," and adding, "Immunity for the police cannot be tolerated in a republic. There must not be a group of citizens in a republic who hold the power to decide the life or death of other citizens."
Meanwhile, more than 150 organizations, including local civic groups as well as left-wing parties such as LFI, the Socialist Party, and the Ecologists, have opposed the bill and signed a statement demanding an "end to state violence."
A petition opposing the bill posted on the National Assembly website was signed by 730,000 people, but it was rejected by the National Assembly's Committee on Legislation last July.
(Photo: Getty Images Korea)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.