Appeal of the head of the police of Paris Maurice Grimo to colleagues, 1968

Appeal of the head of the police of Paris to colleagues

“Perhaps we will win on the street. But we will lose our honor "

- I am addressing today to all units: to simple guards and to the military, to the personnel officers and the civilian chiefs. And I want to talk with you on a topic that we are not entitled to be silent: about the excessive use of force.

If we will not talk with ourselves on this subject extremely clear and openly, then perhaps we will win in this dispute, we will defeat in clashes on the street. But we will lose something much more valuable. We will lose what you value in the same way as me: our honor.

I know, because I spoke with many of you that for the most part you are against such methods. I also know, but you know this with me that there are individual facts that cannot be allowed.

Of course, it is a pity that the press too often condemns the police, referring to these facts, tearing them out of context. At the same time, he does not say that the same police were subjected to violence and suffered losses, remaining calm and simply fulfilling their duty.

I always visited, when I only succeeded, our wounded in hospital beds, and I say as a living witness about the savagery of some attacks, starting with those when they throw cobblestones with all their strength into employees motionless in the ranks and ending with the use of chemicals that led to blinding or heavy burns.

All this, unfortunately, is true, each of us knows about it.

That is why I understand that when people who are often subjected to such attacks receive an order to clear the street, their actions are often tough. But we all must agree that, having dealt with the inevitable shock from contact with the aggressive protesters who need to be pushed, the law enforcement officers that you are, must immediately pull themselves together.

To hit the demonstrator falling to the ground means to strike himself, showing himself in an image that will be distributed to the entire police service.

Even worse - to beat demonstrators after the arrest and on the way to the police departments.

I know what I say here will be incorrectly interpreted by some. But I know that I am right, and that in heart you understand this.

If I talk about this, then only because I am in solidarity with you. I already said this and say it again: everything that the Paris Police does concerns me, and I will not separate myself from it in anything regarding responsibility for its actions. That is why we should be united in applying the rules that I remind of today, and on which, I am sure, the future of the police depends.

Tell this yourself and repeat to everyone around: whenever illegal violence is committed against the protester, dozens of his comrades will want to take revenge on him. This escalation has no boundaries.

But admit that when you show an example of courage and composure, this is respect for those who confront you, even if they do not say it aloud.

Finally, we will remember that being a police officer is a job that is not like any other: when we chose it, we accepted her strict demands and her greatness.

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I know about the difficulties that many of you face. I know about the bitterness that you experience, faced with humiliating accusations and bullying against you or your families. But the only way to get rid of these deplorable misconceptions of part of the population is to constantly show your true face and wage a ruthless war with all those, fortunately, very few who, with their reckless actions, reinforces the unpleasant image that we are trying to create.

Once again, I express my whole faith in you and all my admiration for what I saw during these exceptional days. And I know that people devoted to their business, such as you, will fully support me in what I am doing and have no other purpose than to protect the honor of the police and its duty to the people.

Police Head of Paris, Maurice Grimo
1968.

Original in French