Is the French police not feared any more after 1968?

[UltraWright]

As you know, the Egyptian protesters kicked the **** out of the police during their first uprising and now the police is not feared anymore! A friend of mine told me that the same happened to the French police after 1968 and that the French do not fear their police any and almost do not respect them. Is that true?

[Johnny Kerosene]

I've never been to France so I wouldn't know, but I do know that in '79 they assassinated the professional thief Jacques Mesrine, so I'd be a bit worried about them.

[Hoipolloi Cassidy]

A friend of mine told me that the same happened to the French police after 1968 and that the French do not fear their police any and almost do not respect them. Is that true?

Where does your friend get this nonsense? There are two major divisions of the French police. One is the CRS, which are under direct orders of the Minister of the Interior. (Sarkozy started out as Minister of the Interior). They are vicious, hated and feared. I've had the experience of standing in a crowded bus in Paris, with maybe five CRS standing in the center, making sneering, threatening comments about the other passengers. Everybody tries to ignore them, and hopes to get off before they start something. Then there are the regular police, who are merely seen as lazy, undisciplined, arbitrary, and to be avoided at all costs. Unlike the CRS they're not trained to sow fear, they just enjoy it from time to time. Last time I looked, incidentally, the word of a cop against yours was legally "the truth."

Respect? You must be kidding. Fear? Duh...

[Sasha]

French cops, esp the plainclothed ones scare the fucking daylights out of me, I can only imagine how bad it must be for the banilue immigrants or an homeless roma kid.