Emmanuel Macron has vowed to never give up the fight against Islamist terrorism after a female police worker was killed by a knifeman who shouted Allahu Akbar in France today.
Named by police as Stephanie M, the 49-year-old mother-of-two was slashed in the throat by a Tunisian delivery driver at 2.20pm today as she worked in a police station in the leafy Paris suburb of Rambouillet.
French prosecutors have opened a terror probe after the killing which was carried out by the 36-year-old who arrived in France illegally in 2009 before he was given leave to remain in 2019.
Stephanie, an admin worker, who had worked for the police since 1993, had just popped out of the station to change the parking disc on her car when she was pounced on by the attacker in the lobby.
Published Wednesday, January 27, 2021 8:00AM EST Last Updated Wednesday, January 27, 2021 6:19PM EST PARIS - Three leading rights organizations joined with grassroots groups Wednesday to launch France s first class action suit targeting the country s massive police machine, contending that it lawfully propagates a culture leading to systemic discrimination in identity checks. The NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Open Society Justice Initiative, allege that police target Black people and people of Arab descent in choosing who to stop and check and say the practice is alienating those populations and a danger to society. The issue of racial profiling has festered for years. Now, the organizations want deep law enforcement reforms, including a change in the article in the penal code that governs checks and currently gives police carte blanche with no trace of the encounter. They seek no monetary damages.
Class-action lawsuit: French police discriminate in checks lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Protests against a police security bill and the arrest of an unarmed Black man have rocked France for three consecutive weekends with the past two Saturdays turning particularly violent.
The rallies, which started on November 21, have been fueled by public outcry against police brutality and a new draft law that would make it a crime to publish photos or videos of on-duty police officers “with the aim of harming their physical or psychological integrity.” If convicted, violators of the law could face fines of more than $50,000 and up to a year in prison.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government has argued the measure is needed to protect police officers and their families from online abuse that could end in violence. But critics say it will curb both civil liberties and police accountability.