Macron announces €10M bonus for French police on night duty

French police officers demonstrate against former Interior Minister Christophe Castaner's reforms, including ditching a controversial chokehold, Arc de Triomphe, Paris, 13 June 2020. REUTERS - BENOIT TESSIER

President Emmanuel Macron has promised a compensation package of 10 million euros for French police officers on night duty.

The French leader made the announcement during a surprise visit to a police station in Paris on Monday evening.

Additional compensation for night work was one of the demands made by the French police when representatives met the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, on 20 July.

On Monday night, French President Macron spent two hours with officers from the police emergency squad and the anti-crime unit on night shift. He travelled in one of their vehicles to a police station in the north-western 18^th district of Paris.

Macron said he wanted to show solidarity with the police force and remind officers of their responsibilities to uphold the law. He was accompanied by interior minister Darmanin, by junior minister in charge of citizenship, Marlène Schiappa, and the Paris police chief, Didier Lallement.

⁦@EmmanuelMacron⁩ au commissariat du 18ème ce soir avec la bac 75N ⁦@LePoint⁩ ⁦@Elysee⁩ pic.twitter.com/Omgm2MhLY0

— aziz zemouri (@azizzemouri1) July 27, 2020

The interior minister said that the bonus is intended to compensate for the difficulties of working nights and the increase in hours of duty.

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When they met Darmanin last week, police trade union representatives highlighted the lack of means at their disposal to carry out their duties properly. They said that an additional budget of 75 million euros for police vehicles was not enough.

Fierté d’accompagner le Président @EmmanuelMacron et le ministre de l’Intérieur @GDarmanin pour un temps d’échange avec les équipages de la BAC Nuit, puis du commissariat du 18ème à #Paris, qui agissent sans relâche ! pic.twitter.com/aGW15zEXhh

— 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) July 27, 2020

Macron’s move last night follows the government’s stated determination to fight simmering pockets of violence across France.

In recent months, a bus driver was fatally attacked, firemen were shot at, and clashes erupted between police and members of the Chechen community in the city of Dijon.

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Prime Minister Jean Castex said his government will not tolerate violent behaviour which “exasperates the French people”. Emmanuel Macron added that he will show no leniency in his response.