Overview
- Claire Hédon, the Défenseure des droits, said on Thursday that discrimination is rising, freedom to protest is shrinking and trust between police and communities is fraying.
- She cited a 70% rise in complaints during her six-year term and a projected surge to about 200,000 filings in 2026 as evidence of worsening access to rights.
- Hédon singled out repeated identity checks that target young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods and the practice of multiverbalisation, meaning many small repeated fines that push youth toward over‑indebtedness.
- The office resolved a large share of cases through mediation — about 165,000 claims in 2025 with roughly eight out of 10 closed that way — but it cannot force disciplinary sanctions or compel full transparency from the Interior Ministry and urges systematic use of police body cameras.
- She will leave on July 21 and a successor named by President Macron and validated by Parliament will take over just months before the presidential election, raising questions about political timing and how policing and protest rules will be handled next.