In the “blue vest” protest, the police caused long queues of waiting passengers at Charles de Gaulle airport after deliberately dragging their heels at passport check in. Airport officials said the slow-down was currently only hitting Terminal 1, adding that police were working but taking their time with “deep checks” of passengers. Elsewhere in Paris, some police stations were responding only to emergencies as police continued to negotiate with the government for extra cash for working additional hours at the recent “yellow vest” protests.
The action comes as yet another blow for President Emmanuel Macron following five consecutive weekends of disruptive and often violent “yellow vest” protests across France.
Scores of police officers have been injured since the citizen-driven “yellow vest” movement was launched in mid-November, most in violent clashes with anti-government protesters.
Police unions have denounced working conditions and complained about what they said were strained resources as officers have been sent in to clear roadblocks and restrain violent thugs who have joined street demonstrations to stir chaos and provoke police.
Furthermore, the Alliance police union called on police officers across France to handle only emergencies amid negotiations with the Interior Ministry.
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The French government proposed giving 300-euro ($£270) bonuses to officers deployed to the protests by the yellow vest movement after French President Emmanuel Macron committed to the idea of protest duty pay earlier this month.
However, police union representatives want more cash along with additional compensation for years of overtime duty never paid out.
And France’s Interior Ministry today said that negotiators and unions are trying to find a “settlement plan.”
Speaking at a blockaded police station in the West of Paris, regional official Cyril Thiboust said: “We’re fed up in general.”
France’s national police have long complained about being overworked, under-appreciated and underpaid, and have tried to press their cause in the past but with little success.
Police have been called to the streets in near-record numbers to counter five Saturdays of yellow vest protests
They have also been asked to up surveillance of France’s Christmas markets and other sensitive areas after the Strasbourg attack that killed five people.
However, their current high profile has put them in a unique position to negotiate.