Ramin Mazaheri

Press TV, Paris

France’s police unions went on strike for the first time in almost two decades and held a so-called “March of Rage”. 

Their anger is not caused by government bans on their marches, nor mass arrests, nor the use of police brutality against them, but towards government policies which put them in charge of enforcing such policies, most recently against the Yellow Vest anti-government demonstrations. 

French cops complain that the Yellow Vests have led them to feel overworked, under-compensated, under-appreciated and personally conflicted. 

The protest is also motivated by opposition to the government’s radical overhaul of the pension system. 

French cops enjoy almost unparalleled bonuses, benefits and early retirement, and many wonder if the government will risk angering France’s security faction by making them an equal part of the proposed one-size-fits all, universal plan. 

The police policing the demonstration showed much different tactics than with the Yellow Vests: 

They did not keep their rubber bullet guns pointed at the faces of demonstrators; they honoured France’s so-called “anti-burqa law” and did not cover their faces; they did not constantly push those at the head of the march constantly to provoke retaliation; water cannons were not deployed, nor military vehicles, and tear gas was not shot at the wives and children of the police who attended the legal demonstration.