The challenge of the judicial world at the end of the year seems to be of unprecedented magnitude. Are we right to think that the situation is unprecedented, and that it should continue in 2022?
It is indeed an unprecedented movement in terms of its scale. There has always been grumbling as in other institutions, especially in the public service. The lack of means is so old that it has become a form of routine for us. But this time, the magnitude comes mainly from young magistrates, who do not have the same experience as the oldest and who do not accept the constraints that we have endured for years. As in other professions, they feel the weight of the constraints of availability… There is a taste for the quality of life which was not so important before. This movement is therefore likely to last. In what forms? We will see, since we do not have the right to strike in the judiciary. But there will be limited actions.
“We can open the tap of the means, but we must also close the tap of the texts”
The Keeper of the Seals insists that the means for justice have never been so important …
He is absolutely right. The budget and recruitments have increased. It is moreover unprecedented in the last two years. But we are also starting from very far, which means that we are still far behind the other European countries. In France, there are three prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants, while at European level it is 11. Some say that in France we have great ambitions but little means.
And there is especially in France a workload that does not exist elsewhere in Europe. The problem in France is above all that each month, new laws are published which create new offenses, which translate into an additional workload. A massive influx of complaints that correspond to offenses that did not exist before, and that must be dealt with. A certain number of behaviors have been judiciarized and penalized for too many years. We are in the inflation of texts. We should be in deflation. We must decriminalize to lighten the boat.
It is possible to open the tap of the means, but it is also necessary to close the tap of the texts. Unfortunately, that is not the meaning of the story. For 40 years, each government has wanted to make its mark. We add texts without removing anything.
Not all reforms are bad. Isn’t it good to change the law?
I consider that other means should be used: mediation, restorative justice, civil reparation. We have to get out of the judiciary. In France, we have the illusion of believing that we are solving a phenomenon by penalizing it. But that only results in the embolism of justice. Look at the sporting world: there is no longer a match without procedure. In the eyes of many fellow citizens, any annoyance becomes a crime. It is also a question of society.
The other topic that will definitely mark the year 2022 is the Lelandais trial. How are the Assizes of Grenoble preparing to receive such a trial when the Maëlys affair has moved France?
It is I who will support the prosecution as attorney general. It is a sensitive trial on which we have been working for over six months. A group is working on the organization, on the material aspects… We will have the main room, plus another room equipped with a screen. The Grenoble courthouse is well built, secure, with several access routes. If you are not affected by the virus, the trial should go smoothly. The trial is scheduled to start on January 31 and last almost three weeks.
“Lelandais has the right to a trial. This is the greatness of democracies. Some countries don’t bother with lawsuits. “
Do these arrangements represent an additional cost for the functioning of the tribunal?
We requested a specific budget from the Chancellery. We do not yet know the amount, but in this area, the State does not look at the expenditure. If there are needs, they will be provided. There is a label specific to sensitive trials for this. Here we have transmission equipment needs.
Beyond the preparations inherent in the organization, how do you prepare, psychologically, to deal with this kind of sensitive business?
It will be a difficult time for all the victims, and especially for the parents. It will be hard for the jurors who will be drawn, and for all the actors. The Cour d’Assises is a place of suffering. But that’s part of our job. Justice must reign and everyone has rights to assert. Lelandais has the right to a trial. This is the greatness of democracies. Some countries don’t bother with lawsuits.
Interview by Caroline Thermoz-Liaudy
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