The French Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), the country’s riot police, are looking to create a new special unit to specifically deal with urban violence in no-go zones.
Last month, the French government looked into reorganising the CRS after Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin requested the creation of a team to specifically deal with the growing problems of urban violence in some areas of the country.
The new unit, a ‘Super CRS’, would be an elite group that would be able to rapidly deploy anywhere in French territory to quell urban violent incidents, broadcaster BFMTV reports.
According to the broadcaster, the number of incidents of urban violence, which have included police officer being ambushed in no-go zones, has increased in several departments across France.
Earlier this week, the director of the CRS central directorate discussed recruitment for the new outfit and approximately 150 CRS officers are eligible to volunteer for service with the elite unit.
Those who do will be subjected to several tests and will be equipped with new equipment including protective gear against fire and acid attacks, as well as new vehicles.
Some within the force have been lukewarm on the idea, with criticism that the force will be based near Paris and will likely be unable to rapidly deploy to some areas of the country.
Urban violence has been a major issue in France, even during the restrictive lockdowns rolled out last year in response to the Wuhan virus pandemic.
In April of last year, 25 cities and towns across the country erupted into riots and violence with several attacks on police and an attempt to burn down a police station in Strasbourg.
Over New Year’s Eve, the country saw hundreds of cars burned and many acts of violence against police. Violence, particularly vehicle arson, has become a common occurrence at New Year’s in France for many years.
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