Lunel: “For 1 hour 15 minutes, I tell myself and the people I met”

Gérard Christol with former Minister of Justice Robert Badinter, during a visit to Montpellier. -DR

Gérard Christol with the Minister of Justice Eric Dupont-Moretti. -DR

Le doyen de l'Ordre des avocats bientôt sur scène à Lunel. – DR

On March 9, Gérard Christol, former president of the conference of presidents of the bar, dean of the order of lawyers, takes the stage in Castel to tell and tell his story. The opportunity for a long interview.

Does the emotion aroused by the death of Robert Badinter surprise you given the violence which surrounded his fight against the death penalty ?

For me, Robert Badinter is an exceptional character like there are few in history. He believed that killing someone, even if they had done abominable things, was tantamount to putting themselves on their level. He wanted to get past that. However, exceptional characters like Badinter sometimes manage to give people the feeling, even if they remain tense about their fears as in the face of the death penalty, that they can surpass themselves. But Badinter's death comes at an important moment because we are living in special times. As our neighbor Paul Valéry said, we know that civilizations are mortal and Gramci also said that between a civilization which dies and another which is not quite there, from the chiaroscuro appear the monsters . I think we're there. Sciences and technologies have evolved a lot but the human being, since the dawn of time, has been the same: he contains the best and the worst. With this evidence that the progress of good is always accompanied by that of evil.

You are very critical of the state of justice, how do you judge the action of the Minister of Justice whom you know ?< /p>

As I often say, justice is in a dire state. Like national education or health. I explain to those who wonder why this person is not yet in prison or another is tried months after the facts, that we have approximately the same number of judges as ;in 1850 but with 50 million more citizens. Undoubtedly Dupont, with whom I have maintained relations and who recently saw him in Paris, managed to extract an increase in its budget even if, in the process, it did not have an increase in its budget. rsquo;terrible effects on the jurisdiction of Montpellier. So there is progress, but we are still far from there. But I also remind citizens that it is the National Assembly that votes on the budget, not Macron or Attal. However, who elects parliamentarians ? It is the citizens. The problem is that the French are only concerned with justice when they have to deal with it, personally. 

How do you view the current political landscape, the emergence of extremes and the virtual disappearance of traditional parties ?

We are in a frenzied individualism. Everyone thinks they have the truth. The principle that the minority agrees to adopt the law of the majority is over. All this strains relationships and favors extremes. Moderate parties no longer correspond to violent behavior. However, in a democracy, we must discuss to try to move forward. And I am anxious because I see that people of all classes are hoping, with less and less noise, for a restoration of order, or even an authoritarian or totalitarian regime. This is a perspective which unfortunately has been experienced and which is dangerous. Added to this is the fact that politics has become the management of the emotions of the planetary moment. There is no more past or thought. This AI civilization, even if it will not be mine, and this dehumanization, terrify me.

Did you hope that the “at the same time” of Macron succeeds ?

The most balanced perspective for society was there, in this position of moderation. I have always been compatible from the center left to the center right and the only political card I have had is that of the Valois radical party. I note that Macron has tried the path of overcoming divisions but it does not work because society is in such a state of tension that all “reasonable and moderate” are not included. People want to go to extremes that lead to clashes.

Do you believe that this change in civilization is inevitable ?

I don't see simple, clear things emerging that a majority of the French people would support. Despite everything, sometimes in history, exceptional characters at exceptional times have managed to unite. Sometimes you have to go through difficult times so that suddenly someone is seen and embodies a hope beyond the tensions. But, for the moment, I don't see anyone exceptional.

You are about to leave these thoughts for a while to go on stage, explain to us…

The story of this one on stage is quite simple. I wrote a little work. I never pleaded except for myself. A woman from Nîmes who lives in Paris and makes documentaries came across this book and she wrote to tell me that it had brought back childhood memories and that she wanted to meet me because she felt like I could get on stage and tell these stories. I accepted with pleasure, we got to work and it resulted in a play (*) which will be performed in Lunel on March 9. For an hour and a quarter, with music, lights and a production, I tell about my childhood, criminal cases, bullfighting… I tell myself and the people I met.

Did you hesitate before accepting ?

No, it seemed obvious to me. I did theater at school, college and then again at the conservatory. And at the assize court, it must be admitted that beyond the law, there is a theatrical element. As some friends tell me, I have always been on stage. But I am bound by the text of this piece, so I have a series of constraints to respect which I am not used to.

Éric Dupont-Moretti also took the stage. Did he give you any advice ?

We talked about it and when I told him that I was a little nervous about being held by the lights, the text and the timing, he replied: “Enjoy yourself and say what you want!” Finally, it's a bit like when you plead in the assize court, the file is there but depending on the climate you feel or according to the attention of the jurors, we escape from the file.

On March 9, at 8 p.m. in Castel, the company Le Passage du Temps offers “I become what I am, Gérard Christol, a lawyer tells and tells himself”, alone on stage for the general public. FREE ENTRANCE. Reservations on 04 67 87 83 94 I subscribe to read more