Thousands of French police staged a “march of anger” in Paris yesterday against working conditions and low morale in a protest on a scale not seen in almost 20 years.

The force is exhausted after months of yellow vest violence which rocked cities every weekend and saw protesters target officers, themselves accused of heavy-handed use of stun grenades that left dozens of yellow vests maimed.Unions warn that morale is at rock bottom and the suicide rate is sky high – some 52 officers have taken their own lives since January.

The government launched a crisis plan last month to tackle the issue.

Organisers said 27,000 police of all levels and union persuasions came together at the Bastille for the first time since 2001 when they took to the streets en masse in outrage at the release of an armed robber who had murdered two officers.

Cyril Benoit, an officer with 20 years of service, said the yellow vest protests had take a huge toll on police. In the past two years, one officer in his riot police unit in Auxerre, Burgundy, had committed suicide and another officer had attempted to take her own life.

He blamed “physical and psychological fatigue” and pressure to meet targets.

Police say they are chronically under-equipped to deal with rising crime and complain of lenient sentences against offenders.

“In some areas, we know it has become impossible to intervene without sparking riots. Police are ambushed and targeted by mortar fire with a desire to kill,” said Patrice Ribeiro, of the Synergie-Officiers union. Attacks against police have shot up 15pc this year in the wake of the yellow vest revolt and violent clashes with black bloc anarchists.

© Daily Telegraph, London

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