Paris: Policewoman’s body recovered from the Seine

The body of the policewoman from the Paris River Police who went missing during a training exercise on the Seine on 5 January was recovered from the river on Sunday. The 27-year-old policewoman had gone missing during a routine exercise taking place near Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, whilst the River Seine was in flood. Her body was found downstream from the Pont des Arts, a few hundred metres from the spot where she went missing, the Paris Police Headquarters said. The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office had tasked the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) with investigating the circumstances of her disappearance. On 23 February, following this investigation, a judicial inquiry was opened into manslaughter, with an investigating judge overseeing the proceedings. The Unsa-Police trade union had called for an administrative inquiry into the conditions under which the exercise had been carried out. “There was no justification for organising this exercise when, following Storm Éléonor, the Seine was in flood,” said a union official.