French police to sue state over riots

The Alliance police union has accused authorities of putting officers’ lives at risk during nationwide protests France’s leading police union has announced that it is set to sue the state, accusing it of leaving officers “betrayed and abandoned” during a wave of violent nationwide protests.The union’s planned legal action comes in the wake of unrest last week, when around 550,000 people took to the streets over rising prices and deteriorating school conditions. Demonstrations descended into rioting across Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux, with businesses looted and buildings set on fire. According to Le Monde, 997 police officers and gendarmes were injured, including seven seriously.Speaking on Thursday, union representative Stanislas Gaudon criticized successive governments over what he described as a “20-year lack of political courage” in security policy. Alliance Police Nationale accused the government of creating the conditions for the violence that has swept across the country, as well as abandoning officers on the front lines while issuing contradictory orders and failing to provide adequate training and equipment for riot-control operations.“Police officers will not be s...