Mons Roller Parade on june 28 Community policing running on wheels

Straight from Brussels, the roller parade continues to win over residents: from 3,000 participants during the first editions, around 15,000 eventually put on roller skates to cover the twenty kilometers winding through the capital's streets on summer evenings. Given this growing success, the roller parade will spread, starting in June, to seven cities across the country, including Mons. Starting June 28, the gathering point will be the Grand'Place every Saturday to embark on a roller skate ride of about twenty kilometers that will cross the boulevards and surrounding municipalities, not forgetting a stop in a green space: "The parade is an original way to discover the city in a sporty, festive, and relaxed atmosphere," explains Anne-Sophie Charle, spokesperson for the City of Mons. To ensure a minimum level of security for the event, around twenty police officers from Mons volunteered to put on roller skates themselves. Among them, Commissioner Pierre Maton: "This project is innovative, interesting, and unusual. In terms of community relations, I believe we can achieve good results. Putting on roller skates, just like the participants, allows for direct contact to be established." Before transforming into "roller cops" starting June 28, the volunteers will undergo about twenty hours of training in Namur. Beyond these summer Saturdays, the officers could take out their skates on other occasions: "We will be able to deploy the roller cops on other occasions," explains Commissioner Maton, "particularly to provide friendly supervision for certain peaceful demonstrations. Of course, Mons' cobbled streets will not make our task easy, but everything will depend on the nature of the event and where it takes place."