[The following article is from the June 24 issue of Rouge, the weekly newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist League (LCR), French section of the Fourth International. The translation is by Intercontinental Press.]
The central theme of the Eighth Congress of the Autonomous Federation of Police Unions (FASP) was "act for a more humane and effective police force," for a "republican" police force.
The union leaders laid out the content of the reform they want: "The role of the police is not to repress workplace conflicts but to assure the safety of citizens and their property." This leads them to sharply criticize the practices prior to [President François Mitterrand's election on] May 10, 1981: "Too many activities involving crowd suppression, too much spying for obvious ends led to the police getting the blackest of images, similar to a praetorian guard or a political police, and we would make a mistake to underestimate the consequences of that situation."
These remarks incontestably show that a large number of rank-and-file cops and even some sergeants would like to stop being a corps separated from the population, and want to use the left's victory to accomplish that. The workers movement cannot but rejoice about that evolution and support the struggle of the organizations that reflect that sentiment. The existence of powerful democratic forces in the police is, in fact, a bonus for the struggle of the workers. It prevents the ruling class from having a perfectly effective tool serving its interests. That is why the LCR has always been for recognition of all trade-union rights and the right to strike in that arena.
Nonetheless, the problem of the repressive apparatus remains in full force. The police, as an institution - like the courts or the army — cannot free itself from the state or stop serving the interests that the state guarantees.
In France, the Fifth Republic, which arose from a military putsch, considerably expanded the coercive structures. Faced with the refusal of a segment of the police to function as a praetorian guard for big business, the bourgeoisie perfected and specialized its instruments and assured itself tighter control over the essential decision-making centers.
The way the police have been used, especially since May 1968, and the establishment of elite units, of brigades specializing in crowd control, the growing number of "wild ass" episodes (isn't the latest one that took place in Vénissieux revealing?*), all show that the sole objective of the bosses and of the police high command is to prepare for a confrontation with the people's movement.
Under these conditions it would be utopian to believe that the social and political function of this corps could be changed through the simple expedient of a parliamentary discussion and vote. Any measure that really strikes at the cohesion of the repressive apparatus will encounter stiff resistance from the reactionary sectors, whose determination we have recently had a chance to witness. And it is certain that the majority [Socialist and Communist] parties will then retreat when faced with the prospect of a confrontation.
It is even more utopian to think, as the FASP leaders do since their most recent gathering, that the police can be placed at the service of the population while keeping in key posts men who for decades have been trained exclusively to serve the exploiters.
An interview with FASP leader Bernard Deleplace in the June 20 Témoignage chrétien is revealing about his illusions. Regarding the nomination of Pierre Verbrugghe — a high official before May 10 — to the top command of the police, the union leader stated: "Mr. Verbrugghe is an effective man. He is a great civil servant."
A "great civil servant"? The latest issue of the far-right confidential newsletter Dans la coulisse expresses its satisfaction that the undercover and espionage services had recently organized a de facto strike, simply refusing to investigate the right wing's inroads into the police. And yet we also find "great civil servants" heading up these services.
The Autonomous Federation of Police Unions wants to function connected *in the closest way to the workers movement." To cal spyig services, cu.
But the trade-unionsts' declarations would also have to be accompanied by more concrete acts. Why not, for example, forge contacts on all levels with the workers organizations? Why not mount joint action against attempts to clear out occupied factories or against racist campaigns?
That kind of permanent link would be the only kind that could assure the democratic police organizations of the support of the people's movement. And the mobilization of the people's movement is still the best guarantee to counter the seditious thrusts of the reactionaries.
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Notes
* On March 21, dozens of police entered a housing project in Vénissieux looking for a stolen motorcycle. They got into a confrontation with the mostly North African residents and began beating up women and shooting tear gas grenades. Eventually 150 to 200 cops were involved in terrorizing the residents. - IP