“My son found himself with a knife to his throat for a cap”: Eric Dupond-Moretti facing citizen questions

Le Garde des Sceaux a répondu pendant plus de deux heures aux questions citoyennes. MIDI LIBRE – Michaël Esdourrubailh

It was a grand oral and an exercise in direct democracy concocted for the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti by the Macronist deputy Patrick Vignal. Either reproduce the exercise of questions to the Minister of Justice of the National Assembly, so that elected officials "are less out of step with citizens" by giving the latter a voice. So, Friday in Mudaison (Hérault), all the themes were addressed: insecurity, prison, delinquency, slowness of procedures… The Minister of Justice praised his record, asked for patience, and praised,   a little earlier, the performances of the Béziers judicial court.

"My son was the victim of an attack, he was getting out of the tram, he found a knife to his throat for a cap and he shows a deep feeling of insecurity. Two minors were arrested, the hearing was postponed to October… Should we not punish these offenses more severely ? And not trivialize the carrying of weapons ?"

The question arises and Éric Dupond-Moretti, alone on stage in front of a hundred people for two hours, in the room of the Mudaison cooperative cellar (Hérault), sets out to answer with the ease that the former criminal lawyer never lost.

The idea of ​​this meeting, carried by the Renaissance deputy Patrick Vignal ? Reproduce a session of questions to the government, as in the National Assembly, but decentralized and by the citizens of the country of Gold.

A remake of questions to the government but citizen, in Mudaison (Hérault). FREE NOON – Yan.Phi.

Of course, the latter were handpicked, the questions prepared, the tone was not raised, but the subjects unvarnished addressed the current ills of a society which relies on justice to combat them . And there are many of them.

The minister knows this and he carries over his shoulder the law on the programming of justice which granted unprecedented resources to the institution before last summer: 1,500 magistrates and 1 800 clerks to come by 2027, to name only these crucial recruitments, "but it takes time".< /p>

"Everyone wants security but as far away as possible"

He defends his record and must fight two battles: the slowness of this justice which annoys the French and the idea of ​​a certain laxity, conveyed in particular by the extreme right which he loathes.

"We judge minors in a much shorter time and justice is more severe", responds the minister to David, the grieving father, castigating "the nonsense about alleged laxity for political purposes".

As proof: prisons have never been so full in France.

"I was shocked: 2336, this is the number of mattresses on the floor in prisons, how to guarantee dignified conditions of detention ?", then questions Françoise.

"There is a plan to build 15,000 prison places, the biggest difficulty is finding land, everyone wants security but as far away as possible", replies the minister.

Handling the "at the same time" presidential. "Prison is the firmness of the penal response but also the possibility of reintegration", he said, announcing his desire to set up "educational programs broadcast in the cells" after having conditioned the remission of prisoners' sentences to work in prison.

Same tone with the problem of the rioters: there is no question of giving in to the sirens of those who would like to eliminate social assistance.

Sanctions for failing parents, helping overwhelmed parents

"We will have a range of sanctions for failing parents but we also want to help overwhelmed parents: 60% of kids are raised by single women, making them more precarious , removing benefits would be worse than anything", said the minister.

But it is also the slowness of the hearing, the straitjacket of the procedures or the unanswered situations which resonate in the hemicycle one day during this contest of direct democracy. Céline calls for a reform of appeals in real estate.

"Illicit work makes us unfair competition and with procedures that last three to six years, they have time to file for bankruptcy", she denounces.

The tenant no longer wants to pay or leave

"I represent my grandmother", says this other Héraultais whose ascendancy is n’ unable to get rid of a tenant who no longer pays, degrades the accommodation and does not want to leave.

Jean-Michel Weiss, spokesperson for the municipal police, requests this administrative simplification which would make it possible to immediately enforce the mayors' police orders,  "for the ban on walking around shirtless or the obligation to keep your dog on a leash, everything that pollutes the life of our small villages".

Éric Dupond-Moretti notes, agrees and asks for patience.

"It remains to be seen whether our questions will be answered"

"It’is an original experience of democracy, it remains to be seen whether our questions will be answered, that’that's another story", reacts Patrick, firefighter, who raised the thorny issue of the fight against sexual violence against children.

"The debate is excellent, a little smooth, but basically, we are starting from a very long way away, the minister has inherited a catastrophic situation& quot;, summarizes Maxime Rozier, president of the Montpellier Bar Association, at closing time.

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