Cops’ summer hunt for rioters
Riots: how police track down delinquents who escaped arrest
Le Figaro, August 17, 2023
Police investigators carried out a colossal task throughout July to track down 314 delinquents who had escaped arrest during the nights of violence.
As France suddenly tumbled into chaos during the riots following the death of Nahel, killed on June 27 after refusing to obey the law in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), the forces of law and order had to absorb a double shock. The first, filmed hour by hour, was a tsunami of violence that resulted in 3,800 arrests, made in real time and red-handed, across the country. The second, much less well known, was the result of an extraordinary judicial hunt, the details of which Le Figaro is able to reveal. As of July 31, no fewer than 314 additional rioters, thugs and arsonists had been arrested by the investigation departments of public security and the judicial police. The latter alone was entrusted with the task of carrying out just over 170 particularly sensitive investigations into the most serious acts.
From the very first days, the judicial authorities referred emblematic events to the judicial police, such as the destruction and arson of town halls, attacks on police stations, major looting, and even threats or attacks on elected representatives,” explains Frédéric Laissy, head of the national police force’s communications department. While public order measures were still being maintained at their maximum, the first arrests were made at home, often with the assistance of the BRI or Raid.”
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