INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2016

Trouble in the ranks as French police protest PARIS: Blue flashing lights are a common sight for weary Parisians used to living under a state of emergency. The dozens of police cars on the Champs-Elysees this week were different. Blocking traffic on the famous avenue late on Monday, hundreds of officers and patrol vehicles gath- ered-not for a new anti-terror raid or, thankfully, in the aftermath of another attack-but to protest. “We’ve had enough!” one told AFP as a convoy of cars, bikes and offi- cers covering their faces with balaclavas or masks, made their way noisily up the boulevard in a spontaneous demonstration. Protests have continued and spread every night since, wrong-footing the Socialist government and highlighting anger in the ranks with the country on maximum alert. “Sick of being a sitting duck!” read one hand-written sign in the southern city of Toulouse this week. “Don’t forget us,” read another in Lyon in central France on Thursday night. The list of police complaints is long, covering every- thing from an ever-increasing workload, bureaucracy, out- dated equipment and what is seen as lenient sentencing for violence against officers. The frustration has been building for some time, fed by long-standing problems of delinquency in the country’s rundown suburbs but boosted by the sense of insecurity in France. The spark for this week’s demonstrations, organ- ized by the rank-and-file rather than union leaders, was several petrol bombs thrown at officers in a known trouble spot outside Paris on October 8. A 28-year-old officer suf- fered serious burns and is still in a coma. Prior to this, an off-duty officer and his partner were stabbed to death at their home northwest of Paris in June in an attack claimed afterwards by the Islamic State group. After the carnage in Nice in July, when an Islamist-inspired extremist killed 86 people with a truck, opposition politi- cians questioned whether police should have stopped him. In another blow to morale, during demonstrations against labor law reforms in the spring, officers were caught on : Newly crowned 40th Oba, or king, of the Benin kingdom, Oba II (C), walks on a wooden bridge camera kicking and hitting protesters with batons, leading assisted by palace aides to perform the rite during his coronation. — AFP to an outcry about brutality.

Loved or not? Nigeria’s new : “Police officers need recognition,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Thursday as he sought to contain the cri- sis, just six months from presidential elections. “They are The coronation of a lifetime loved by the French people, and not only since Charlie,” he added, referencing another dark moment for the men and One of the oldest and most prestigious African realms women in blue over the last two years. The execution-style killing of a police officer during the raid by two extremists on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in January 2015 became BENIN CITY: The rainy season is sup- Burns Effiom was in the audience and ‘Long live the king’ one of the emblematic images of the tragedy. posed to be over in Nigeria, but on explained the significance of the coro- Nigeria, which has 170 million It led to a rare outpouring of sympathy for police who Thursday just before midnight, torrential nation. “Politicians use traditional lead- inhabitants, is deeply divided between a are now more visible than ever around France as they rain and crackling lightning let loose ers to maintain peace,” he told AFP. The Muslim north and a Christian south; guard buildings and sensitive sites under the state of over Benin City. Oba title is passed down from father to between supporters of the ruling All emergency declared in November last year. Leading For those in the crowd, the message first-born son. So the new king, whose Progressives Congress party and the researcher and police expert Christian Mouhanna says was clear: with the rain the gods had birth name is Eheneden , opposition People’s Democratic Party. the demonstrations stem from a mix of structural prob- blessed the new monarch of the king- takes over from his father, Solomon Yet on Thursday, those divisions were lems, politics and the heightened threat to France. dom of Benin in the country’s south. Akenzua, who died earlier this year. put aside, with the four major traditional Though police are generally respected-their bravery in The divine coronation was the climax rulers-the Oba of Benin, Emir of Kano, last November’s attacks in Paris was widely hailed-they of a day of royal pageantry, when some ‘Like God’ Sultan of Sokoto and Ooni of Ife-stand- suffer from poor relations with communities in crime-rid- 100,000 people flooded the streets to Huddled behind a wall of people ing above the political fray. den areas. catch a glimpse of the new “Oba”-king armed with their cell phones, Christian “Please welcome, honored guests, Local policing has been cut drastically since 2003, in the Yoruba language-Ewuare II. The Iyekekpolor jostled to snap pictures of the king of the century,” said the master meaning officers are distant and seen as heavy-handed , now located inside VIPs. “From here I can see my king,” said of ceremonies when Ewuare II appeared enforcers. They also miss out on local intelligence, critical Nigeria, is one of the oldest and most the young graduate of the University of in an intricate armor of red coral and for fighting crime and terrorism, he says. Over-centraliza- prestigious African realms which flour- Benin. “He’s like God for us.” Beside him surrounded by dozens of chiefs and tion means the rank-and-file are unable to take their own ished from around the 13th century stood Rickson Ogwu, who made the trip princes. decisions, while grumbling about tedious guard duty to until the British invasion hundreds of from Delta State, once a part of the A graduate of the best British and reassure the nervous French public is on the rise. Also-and years later. It was famous for its vast ancient kingdom. Ogwu missed the American schools, and a former Nigerian worryingly for the government-they see themselves as suf- wealth, sophisticated urban design and coronation of the last Oba in 1979 ambassador to Sweden and Angola, the fering from political failures higher up, from the violent intricate bronzes. because he was too young at age 12. He new king is determined to revive the demonstrations against labor reforms or clearing refugee The Oba does not wield any official wasn’t going to pass this opportunity former glory of his kingdom and kick- camps in Paris and Calais on the north coast. powers in Nigeria, but has a great deal up. “We can only see this once in a life- start the economy. “They find themselves managing problems in an of influence. Politicians, businessmen time,” the trader said. “I’m proud to con- “With international aid and private authoritarian way that haven’t been worked out differ- and traditional leaders from all across tinue the tradition of my people.” More sector partners, we will save our her- ently,” said Mouhanna, who heads a unit specializing in the country honored the new king than six hours late on the program, the itage,” he said, promising in particular the police and penal system at France’s national research under the giant white tent with some guests were finally assembled under- to invest in the bronze industry, the institute, CNRS. The targeting of Francois Hollande so 4,000 in attendance. Northern sultans neath the air-conditioned tent lit with kingdom’s pride. “I hope to attract close to elections explains the president’s eagerness, as bundled in turbans walked alongside multicolored chandeliers and the king tourists, help develop the agricultural well as leading members of the government, to meet southern princes, shirtless and draped in arrived. Nigerian Vice President Yemi industry,” he said. “Long live the king!” police unions in person and satisfy their demands. “You loops of chunky coral necklaces, while Osinbajo and Africa’s richest man, Aliko exclaimed Eric Ojo, a 35-year-old entre- are asking for resources, we’ll give you them,” Interior the Yoruba king of Ife wore a leopard Dangote, sat alongside other traditional preneur. “I am happy. He was sent by Minister Bernard Cazeneuve wrote in a letter sent to skin. Wearing round John Lennon-style leaders, foreign ambassadors and God, but it is a king who has feet on the police yesterday. —AFP glasses and a string of pearls, Prince European delegations. ground.” — AFP