Alliance Police Nationale calls for a broader presumption for officers
Alliance Police NationaleFrench police trade union
Alliance Police Nationale supported a presumption for officers and argued for a broader rule applying to arrests even when an officer did not fire a weapon.
Responding to
Police officers should benefit from a broader presumption of legitimacy, including when making arrests without firing a weapon, with the individual bearing the burden of producing contrary proof.
“While some play with semantics, Alliance Police Nationale stands firm: only one subject is acceptable, the presumption of self-defense for all police officers. A police officer who stops an individual, whether or not he uses his weapon, is acting legitimately. It is up to the individual to prove otherwise, not up to our colleagues to justify themselves constantly. (Translated from French. Original: Pendant que certains jouent sur la sémantique, Alliance Police Nationale persiste et signe : un seul sujet est recevable la présomption de légitime défense pour tous les policiers. Un policier, qu’il fasse usage de son arme ou non, qui interpelle un individu agit légitimement. À l’individu d’apporter la preuve contraire, pas à nos collègues de se justifier en permanence.)”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Should France presume police and gendarmes acted lawfully when using firearms?
A bill filed by French lawmaker Éric Pauget and rewritten by the government would create a rebuttable presumption that national police officers and gendarmes who use firearms acted within an authorized statutory circumstance and complied with requirements of absolute necessity and strict proportionality. The National Assembly adopted the text on July 7, 2026, and sent it to the Senate. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and police-union supporters say the measure would protect officers without ending judicial review; the Defender of Rights, a UN special rapporteur and human-rights groups argue that it could weaken investigations, victims’ remedies and accountability for lethal force.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Official union statement issued the day after the government amendment was adopted. Alliance argued for a broader presumption covering police conduct beyond firearm use and said the individual, rather than the officer, should provide contrary proof.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The National Assembly had adopted Government Amendment 39 the previous day, replacing the original self-defense provision with a presumption tied to lawful firearm use under the Internal Security Code.
After the quotation
The statement urged political and union critics to stop incriminating officers and framed respect and protection for police as necessary to public security.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to the proposed statutory presumption favoring lawful firearm use, Alliance explicitly supports the policy direction and asks that it extend further. Its advocacy is a substantive defense of the presumption, even though the organization preferred a broader version than the government amendment.
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More from this case
Read the full caseNuñez rejects the claim that the firearms bill creates a license to kill
“What we are creating is a simple presumption, which can be overturned very quickly, as the text provides. So stop saying everywhere that we have created a license to kill! (Translated from French. Original: Ce que nous créons est une simple présomption, qui peut être renversée très rapidement, ce que le texte prévoit. Arrêtez donc de dire partout que nous aurions créé un permis de tuer !)”Read statement
LDH says the police firearm presumption would obstruct investigations of shootings
Ligue des droits de l'Homme
“Yet establishing a presumption that shootings are lawful would amount to accepting from the outset that the use of the weapon was lawful, and therefore to slowing down, or even preventing, investigations, with the possible consequence that unjustified uses escape any sanction. As a result, victims would be deprived of any hope that the truth would come out, and all the current failings would be legitimized. (Translated from French. Original: Or l’instauration d’une présomption de légalité des tirs reviendrait à admettre d’emblée la conformité de l’usage de l’arme et donc de freiner, voire d’empêcher, la réalisation d’investigations, avec pour conséquence possible que des utilisations injustifiées échappent à toute sanction. Dès lors, les victimes seraient privées de toute espérance quant à la manifestation de la vérité et tous les dysfonctionnements actuels seraient légitimés.)”Read statement
Stéphane Peu opposes France's firearm-use presumption
“an inequality before the law (Translated from French. Original: une inégalité devant la loi)”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Alliance Police Nationale calls for a broader presumption for officers". First published: 2026-09-22. Last updated: 2026-10-07. https://disputeindex.com/events/1374-alliance-police-nationale-supported-a-presumption-for-officers