Overview

• LFI’s 2026 programmatic toolbox includes plans to strip municipal officers of lethal weapons and selected surveillance cameras while reintegrating them into a ‘proximity’ national police model
• Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, Édouard Philippe, Valérie Pécresse and PS leader Olivier Faure joined a chorus of criticism, warning that the proposal undermines public security
• Several local Insoumis figures, including deputy Louis Boyard, have voiced opposition to disarming their municipal forces, revealing fractures within InsFrance Insoumise
• Interior Minister François-Noël Buffet is preparing legislation to broaden municipal police competencies and strengthen their legal framework in response to LFI’s initiative
• An Odoxa/Le Figaro poll finds that 59% of French voters rank security as the top concern for the 2026 municipal elections, underscoring the high stakes of the debate