French police officer suspended over 'racist' new year card
Gerald Darmanin
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has suspended a senior policeman over a New Year card that has been deemed to be extremely racist. The action has come just when the police force has been facing accusations of prejudice towards Arabs and blacks.
The New Year card in question was sent by a police station outside Paris. The cartoon on the card has a white policeman who is asking a black man to come closer. The policeman has a taser in his hands.
"Come closer. My taser is recharging in the cigarette lighter," says the slogan in the cartoon, below which is written, "the commissioner and the police... wish you a very happy 2021."
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter that an investigation into the matter had been launched. The police commissioner will be questioned. He has been suspended. Identity of the police commissioner has not been revealed.
The cartoon "shocked a lot of people due to the racist connotations," said an interior ministry official, who asked not to be named. "It is incomprehensible."
French police have been under fire over repeated instances where black or Arab suspects have been roughly arrested or beaten, prompting accusations of institutionalised racism in the force.
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