France's infamous riot police are threatening to strike over a new rule forbidding them from drinking wine with lunch, a cherished -- and in many cases legally protected -- French tradition.
Wine or beer for the CRS? C'est fini! blared a recent headline on the TV channel France 2's website.
The riot police in turn have accused the Interior Ministry of trying to make us priests, but without the sacramental wine.
The 14,000 dark-blue-uniformed members of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, or CRS as they're known in France, have a reputation for heavy-handed tactics and abuses of power when responding to riot and crowd-control situations. They first gained notoriety during the May 1968 student uprisings in France.
So it was no surprise when they angrily denounced the new ban on drinking alcohol -- brought about after pictures of armed CRS police drinking beer while in full body armor and policing a student demonstration in October outraged officials and the public.
It's the most absurd and ridiculous decision, an officer on duty at CRS told AOL News today about the ban, which was first announced late last week. We will fight it.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/25/french-riot-police-furious-over-ban-on-wine-during-lunch/
Wine or beer for the CRS? C'est fini! blared a recent headline on the TV channel France 2's website.
The riot police in turn have accused the Interior Ministry of trying to make us priests, but without the sacramental wine.
The 14,000 dark-blue-uniformed members of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité, or CRS as they're known in France, have a reputation for heavy-handed tactics and abuses of power when responding to riot and crowd-control situations. They first gained notoriety during the May 1968 student uprisings in France.
So it was no surprise when they angrily denounced the new ban on drinking alcohol -- brought about after pictures of armed CRS police drinking beer while in full body armor and policing a student demonstration in October outraged officials and the public.
It's the most absurd and ridiculous decision, an officer on duty at CRS told AOL News today about the ban, which was first announced late last week. We will fight it.
Full story: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/25/french-riot-police-furious-over-ban-on-wine-during-lunch/
