Macron admits ‘there are police who are violent’

PARIS

French President Emmanuel Macron admitted Friday that violent police officers exist, according to local media.

“There are police who are violent" and “they need to be punished,” Macron said during an interview with online video platform Brut, according to Radio France Internationale, or RFI.

Macron said the Nov. 23 evacuation of asylum seekers from the Place de la Republique in the center of the capital was correct and they were later taken to a shelter. But he admitted that some police officers behaved wrongly during the evacuation.

“When you are not white, you are more likely to get checked by the police. You are identified as a problem factor, and that cannot be justified,” Macron was quoted as saying.

On criticism about a controversial security bill, Macron said: “I cannot let it be said that we are limiting freedoms in France."

“It's a big lie. We are not Hungary or Turkey," he said.

Asked about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks in which he said Macron was “trouble” for the French nation, the French leader said: “I believe in respect ... I think insults between political leaders is not the way to do things.”

“France has no problem with Islam,” he said. “We are a country that has always had a dialogue ... but we founded our Republic on the separation of religion from politics.”