Tales from Europe: You thought CP cops were bad

The writ of habeas corpus declares: No one can be arrested or held against their will without just cause, and without being made aware of the charges against them. Unfortunately, it appears no one has ever read this to an officer of the "Préfecture de Police." I won't waste your time with my own trifling tale of officers who threatened to arrest me if I didn't immediately pay a 40-euro fine for lacking a Metro ID while riding the subway. As far as Paris' widely despised branch of the French national law enforcement goes, this was child's play; my roommate, Evan, endured a much more trying encounter. While studying a map to determine which train to take, Evan was suddenly surrounded by four police officers who immediately began pressing him with questions in rapid French, searching him without waiting for a response — which Evan was later informed they have the right to do.

When the officers discovered he was carrying two cell phones (a common practice of drug dealers), they demanded an explanation. Students studying abroad normally purchase a temporary phone in their host country. Since these phones usually have limited capabilities, many students will also carry their American smartphones for other uses.

Poor Evan, a beginner in French who could only muster a repeated "Pourqoui? (Why?)" as officers searched him, didn't have a shred of hope to explain this complicated situation. After a mighty struggle, one of the officers finally admitted to speaking some English. Evan's innocence was made clear, and after a heated argument amongst themselves, the officers abruptly departed without a word of apology.

Perhaps it was just a drug tip gone wrong. Why not? Such things happen everywhere — could the Parisian police be just as vulnerable as America's finest? Alas, no. Two nights later, our roommate Claire did not return home. The next day, nursing a badly sprained wrist, a visibly shaken Claire explained she had been arrested and spent the night in jail. Claire was possibly the least imposing person in Paris, and that's saying something. Accordingly, she was arrested for not having her student ID on her person while in school.

Remarkably, entering any campus grounds in Paris without a student ID is an arrestable offense. Claire's brutal treatment resulted in her falling with handcuffs on, spraining her wrist. She was denied medical treatment overnight. Habeas corpus, you've been served.

Though she was traumatized, Claire seemed unsurprised by what happened, blaming it on France's current President Nicolas Sarkozy and his national security policies. She is not alone in this assessment — many people I've spoken with believe Sarkozy, who is facing re-election in this spring, wants to create an atmosphere of a police state, where fear will maintain order (and where Islamic headscarves are banned). Perhaps nowhere was it more evident to an unbiased outsider than at the local bookstore. There, children's books depict Sarkozy in Napolean's likeness, with titles like "Les Chroniques Du Régime de Nicolas I."

But perhaps such nationalist policies are necessary. Since 9/11, Paris has not suffered a terrorist attack, while Madrid and London have both seen their undergrounds bombed and Berlin has been saved only by last-minute intelligence findings. The French rationalize that they've been successful in this effort. Terrorism is wrong, so if it's not happening, all is well, right? Or is victory measured in something greater than death counts or prevailing flags?

As I recounted Claire's story to a friend, I finished by saying "I don't know why they would do that, I guess they're terrified of terrorists." Resisting the instinctual urge to correct myself after using two similarly sounding words in a sentence, and pondering the erosion of human rights throughout the Western world, I wondered whether the terrorists had won after all.

Greg Nasif is a senior history major. He can be reached at nasif@umdbk.com.