Monitoring and punishments | Short processes

October 24: French police take away a demonstrator in Paris. Photo: AFP/SAMEER AL-DOUMY Long queues in front of the courtrooms, overcrowded benches and many questioning faces. In Paris these days there is an unusually high level of interest in the verdicts of the court's 23rd criminal chamber. Here in Paris and across France, judges have been deciding in summary proceedings since October 19th what happens to the people who were arrested on the sidelines of demonstrations on October 17th and 24th. The social movement against high living costs, against government policies and for more money for education began as a student protest at the beginning of September.

In the audience are family members of the defendants and people who want to express their solidarity with them. In addition, law students and citizens who want to know what really happens behind the soundproof wooden doors of the courtrooms. They question whether the French justice response is appropriate given the destruction, looting and violence that marred the nationwide demonstrations.

Abel S., Théo S. and Rémi S. are among the first to be presented in Paris on October 19th. They are accused of kicking two police officers' motorcycles. They are also said to have been part of a group preparing violent acts. The hearing is adjourned. All three are taken into custody.

“On Monday, October 19th, there were an extremely large number of arrest warrants compared to the normal situation,” says criminal lawyer Romain Ruiz in an interview with “nd.DieWoche”. With the Black Rage lawyers' collective, the former activist protested in front of the courtroom against the "historically strong repression" of the judiciary. Two or three month prison sentences are extremely rare. In Paris these were first-time offenders who immediately received the harshest punishment - imprisonment.

This is what happened to Manuel G., whose case was reported unanimously by various media outlets. G. was caught with components for a Molotov cocktail on October 17th. Incriminating material was found on his cell phone. The 21-year-old with no previous convictions was sentenced to eight months in prison, six of which were suspended. With an immediate arrest warrant, G. is transferred directly to prison.

The Ministry of Justice has now published a document detailing the typical profile of 186 people arrested between October 18 and 21. The profile corresponds to a man between 18 and 25 years old with French nationality who has not yet been convicted. According to the document, which is available to the AFP news agency, three categories can be distinguished: looters accounted for 46 percent of the cases, 26 percent were "rioters" who rebelled against the law enforcement forces. Ten percent would have a mixed profile. The remaining cases related to other crimes.

There is currently no such analysis from the Ministry of Justice regarding the type and amount of penalties. Comparisons are difficult anyway, says public prosecutor Aurélien Martini. Because the justice system does not deal with phenomena, but with individuals. "Only the sum of these individual cases shows whether the justice system's response was more or less harsh." Martini is deputy head of the Meaux public prosecutor's office, northeast of Paris, and deputy general secretary of the union for judges and prosecutors. "There were harsh reactions from the judiciary, others were less harsh," he says. The current response from the judiciary corresponds to its average response. The harsh reactions are undoubtedly appropriate given the situation.

After the riots on October 17, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin called on judges and public prosecutors to be “extremely harsh.” He even personally visited the courts in Paris, Lille and Marseille. “These are indirect threats,” says Romain Ruiz. He is concerned about the independence of jurisprudence: "The judges and prosecutors feel the pressure that is being exerted on them." Today, criminal law and the police are a double-headed monster. "The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior form a hyper-ministry of repression," he says, "one head feeds the other."

Prosecutor Martini sees it differently. »A court judges independently and with the greatest prudence. There is freedom of expression in the court,” he says. Possible influence on judges and prosecutors does not come from the Minister of Justice, but rather “from a social climate.” A large part of her work is therefore “gaining distance” in such moments.

Over 1,000 additional people were arrested across the country in connection with the demonstrations on October 24th. At the hearing on October 26th, the courtroom in Paris is full. The hearing starts late. Abel S., Théo S. and Rémi S. are back in court. Today is about her request for release pending her trial in December. In their applications, the lawyers refer to the hearing a week earlier.

There was “unbearable pressure” on the public prosecutor and the judge, says Lisa Giraud. She is Rémi S's lawyer. The judge interrupts her and replies sharply: "I assure you that the judges have not received any instructions." The application for release from prison with strict conditions for Abel S., Théo S. and Rémi S. is not approved.

"The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior form a hyper-ministry for repression."

In Paris, criminal lawyer Ruiz is observing a development in convictions. "There was a kind of collective realization that the repression had gone far too far," he says. The judges were angry about the pressure from the justice minister. The presence of journalists, the audience and the protest of defense lawyers had an impact.

At the beginning of this week, the court released three other defendants for the time being. Among them are James T. and Johan T., who will be released from custody pending their trial in January. James T. is in his mid-40s, a father and has a long military career. Johan T. is a shy 19-year-old looking for a job.

Theo A., a 32-year-old with a fresh black eye, is sentenced to three months' probation for wearing a mask at a demonstration. The public prosecutor's office had demanded nine months in prison with six months suspended and an immediate arrest warrant.

The massive use of fast-track procedures in the context of social movements is in itself nothing new in France. In 2023, hundreds of people were convicted in short trials in just a few days. After the death of 17-year-old Nahel, there were nationwide riots. What is different: In the current wave of proceedings, significantly more people were convicted within a very short period of time. “I don’t think anything like this has happened in the last 30 years,” said Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.

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