French interior minister says he understands police 'fatigue' but urges officers to serve public interest

Members of the BRAV-M, the motorized violent action repression police Brigades, stand guard at the Place de la Republique during a march in the memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old Black Frenchman who died in a 2016 police operation, organized by his relatives, in a new context of mobilisations against police violence and inequality, following the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old teenager killed by a French police officer in Nanterre during a traffic stop, in Paris, France, July 8, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Thursday said he understood frustration and anger among the country's overworked security forces after recent bouts of street violence, but urged police not to let down the population and serve the public interest.

His televised remarks, delivered against the backdrop of a Paris police station, came as the government struggles to allay discontent within the police force over what many see as tough working conditions, deepened by the recent incarceration of an officer in Marseille many officers found unfair.