Prefect, prosecutor and mayor of Lyon supervise a police operation at La Guillotière – Lyon Mag

The prefecture, the town hall and the public prosecutor’s office know that they are being observed from all sides and are certainly feeling more pressure than usual. This is why, this Friday, the three figures of authority in Lyon gathered on the Place Gabriel-Péri to supervise a coordinated police operation.

“More than 350 operations have been held since the start of the year. They are engaged within the framework of a consultation with the public prosecutor and the mayor of Lyon.“, specified the prefect of the Rhône Pascal Mailhos before recalling that of the 300 police officers promised by Gérald Darmanin, 250 will have arrived by the end of the year. This is in addition to the 30 CRS temporarily deployed as reinforcements.

“The results are significant: 4,000 checks, 1,000 arrests and 75 people imprisoned“, welcomed the representative of the State in Lyon. If the figures of the operation of the day have not yet been communicated, the means were there. Even before the arrival of figures of authority and the national and local press, several CRS trucks had already scared off street vendors and tobacco traffickers.

A point that will certainly be supported by the inhabitants and traders of the district who have gotten into the habit of pointing out to decision-makers that all the players in this insecurity invaded Place Gabriel-Péri once the police left.

Town planning and social support: “it will move“promises the mayor

It must be recognized that in recent days, the size of the wild market has greatly diminished. This is due to an almost permanent police presence authorized by the Ministry of the Interior. But this is only temporary: “Can you imagine that we will not maintain the security forces 365 days a week at this level?“replied the prefect, emphasizing once again the figures mentioned above.

Pascal Mailhos, Nicolas jacquet and Gregory Doucet therefore agree that lasting solutions must be found, particularly on the social side: 40% of arrests that take place around the square relate to minors. “Other actions are carried out, on support and on urban restructuring“, continued the mayor of Lyon.

The elected ecologist assured “that from the beginning of 2022, we will start work to transform the configuration of Place Gabriel-Péri“. These redevelopments will however have to be done in cooperation with the Métropole de Lyon, which has the skills in the field of roads. The Greater Lyon community remains however very discreet on the subject of the Guillotière and lets the municipality get wet for it … Grégory Doucet and Bruno Bernard therefore work together and with the help of local traders, we learned from the mouth of the city councilor. “It will move“, he concluded by promising announcements”early 2022“.

The prosecutor has “the feeling that the judicial response tends to meet the legitimate expectations of the population“

While waiting for long-term measures, the delinquency observed must be dealt with. This is the work of Nicolas Jacquet. “I know that there are high expectations in terms of judicial response (…) this is a work that I carried out on my side within the framework of a local delinquency treatment group“, specified the prosecutor of Lyon. The latter associates all the actors of security (national and municipal police, customs, public donors …) for better coordination.

If this work allows the passage of many people in court, many reproach the justice system for not being firm enough. “I’m still a little surprised on this subject“, retorted the prosecutor.”The immediate appearance is every day people who are arrested, presented and sentenced“, he continued.”We are still far from this notion of impunity that we want to evoke today (…) I believe that justice is there to judge facts, people and a profile, I have the feeling that the judicial response (…) tends to meet the legitimate expectations of the population and of Lyonnais“, Nicolas Jacquet concluded.

The succession of police operations therefore makes it possible to temporarily reduce the insecurity that reigns around Place Gabriel-Péri. However, we should not expect the evaporation of all these ailments overnight. Pascal Mailhos, Grégory Doucet and Nicolas Jacquet are betting on a long-term response. But the urgency of the situation and the temporality of the strong measures in progress mean that the discontent of the inhabitants and traders does not go down …

LM