French police will be allowed to spy on suspects via their smartphones and computers. The National Assembly has approved an innovation that will allow remote access to devices and, without the owners noticing, to know where they are, what they are talking about and to become familiar with the photos and videos recorded. The initiative of the authorities was adopted against the background of large-scale riots that broke out after the murder of an Algerian teenager by police officers – the damage caused by them exceeded one billion euros. How in France they are trying to curb chaos, understood Dmitry Antipov.
Protests in France continue for the second week. The government introduces new measures to fight against the demonstrators in order to prevent a new wave of clashes. So far, more than 3,000 people have been arrested.
“We intend to take important decisions in the coming weeks, which will be calculated for a long time,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Soon the French police will be able to spy on citizens via their telephones, this measure will make it possible to remotely activate the camera, the microphone and to determine the geolocation of smartphone owners. In addition, the government may suspend the operation of Internet services and social networks at its discretion. The authors of the initiatives do not specify whether these restrictions will have a maximum duration and whether a court decision will be necessary to introduce them.
“We are not talking about blocking, of introducing an on-off button for social networks by decision of the authorities. This is not the direction of the policy we are pursuing. But in some cases, the state should be able to control various means when they are used by attackers,” said Olivier Veran, spokesperson for the French government.
In addition to Internet services, the French government has decided to fight against fireworks. During the protests, rioters actively used pyrotechnics to fight off police and gendarmerie and to set cars and government agencies on fire.
“On the eve of July 14, I gave clear instructions to the prefects to intensify the fight against firecrackers and against all pyrotechnic products,” said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
In total, according to recent reports, protesters have already caused more than a billion euros in damage, set fire to more than 12,000 cars and 4,000 buildings. At the same time, during a meeting with the mayors of French cities at the Elysée, the heads of municipalities showed themselves to be dissatisfied with the accompanying measures proposed. And the French press, in its articles, criticizes the president for only paying attention to the economic aspect, ignoring the subject of racial intolerance and the need for police reform in the country.
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