The Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, dismissed a class action lawsuit Wednesday against the French government for alleged racial profiling practices amongst French police in identity checks against people of African and Arab origins. You can read more here.
The Council of State defended its dismissal, stating that the administrative court has no authority to restructure existing legal frameworks nor to redefine public policies aimed at repressing delinquency and preventing public order disruptions. It emphasized that such authority lies with the legislature.
Despite this, the claimants challenged that the French government has an affirmative duty to enforce particular normative and organisational measures to combat systematic racial discrimination. The court refrained from ruling on whether the identity checks are of a ‘systemic’ or ‘general’ nature. However, it acknowledged that the collective testimonies and reports presented by the claimants provided sufficient evidence to confirm that identity check practices are influenced by physical characteristics associated with an individual’s real or assumed origin, which would constitute a violation of French law.
Further manifestations of the claims saw an attempt to limit the French police’s power to conduct identity checks under Art 78-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedures, which outlines that police officers may conduct identity checks under a variety of provisions.
Click here to view the code of Criminal Procedures. The claimants argued the necessity to remove the power of police officers conducting identity checks based on administrative grounds, suggesting the delegation of this power to an independent administrative authority instead.
In line with the claimants’ intent to confine police powers, they proposed additional measures to ensure the police are held accountable. These included issuing an identity check receipt, as well as mandating the provision of a report that outlines the specifics of the identity check, including details such as location, time, the responsible officer, and the reasons for the check.
In a related event, the Council of States ordered the Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territory to ensure that police officers wear their individual identification numbers during operations involving public rallies or gatherings. The order further stated that these identification numbers must be prominently displayed so that they’re sufficiently legible. This order can be viewed here.