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| Demo outside hospital where an injured colleague is treated |
The last three nights have seen demonstrations in the Champs Elysees in Paris by police. The "manifestations" have also spread to other cities, including Toulouse. The policemen are angry that the government has not provided the conditions or equipment needed to combat a shortage of staff needed to confront an increasingly hostile criminal milieu.
The trouble started when a patrol was petrol bombed by presumed drug dealers in the outskirts of the capital. Four officers had a "Molotov cocktail" thrown at their car and were forced to abandon it with their clothes on fire. Passers-by helped to douse the flames, but one officer is still in hospital with serious burns. Police union spokesmen claim that the officers were merely on surveillance and that such attacks, even shootings and rockets have become almost commonplace - "they are no longer afraid to kill a cop".
Demands include better pay and conditions to attract more recruits, better body armour and flame proof clothing and better sentencing of offenders, who the police claim are mainly recidivists.
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