“You had been invested with a certain power, real or supposed, and you betrayed the trust that had been placed in you”. The president of the 10e Correctional Chamber of Paris, Isabelle Prévost-Desprez, accompanied with a severe tone the announcement of the judgment of her court in the Benalla case.
The main defendant, Alexandre Benalla, is found guilty of the nine counts of prevention held against him, mainly the unlawful interference with the function of police officer, the willful violence committed against several demonstrators and the couple from the Place de the Contrescarpe, the 1er May 2018, in the capital, but also the concealment of images from the cameras of the Prefecture of Police of Paris as well as the forgery and the use of forgery concerning the diplomatic passports obtained by the former official in charge of the Elysee Palace .
“Sense of impunity”
Believing that Mr. Benalla had shown a “Feeling of impunity and omnipotence”, the court went well beyond the requisitions of the prosecution. He had asked for a suspended sentence of eighteen months. Asserting that “Only a mixed sentence is likely to mark the gravity of the facts”, the court condemns Alexandre Benalla to three years of detention including one firm year, which he will be able to carry out at his mother’s home, under an electronic bracelet. The Chairperson noted in this regard that Mr. Benalla had provided “Fake coins” in court regarding his domicile and income.
In his judgment, Mme Prevost-Desprez noted that, “Far from [sa] desire to protect the institution ”, Mr. Benalla had, at the hearing, “Sowed doubt on the statements” of his superiors and “Questioned the statements of witnesses”, when he was not giving explanations “Absurd and irresponsible” concerning the “selfie” taken on the sidelines of the 2017 campaign, on which he holds a gun in his hand. She also ruled that by using a letterhead from his superior at the Elysee Palace, François-Xavier Lauch, to obtain a diplomatic passport, Mr. Benalla had “Crossed the line between resourcefulness and criminal offense”.
But it is on the muscular arrests made during the 1er May 2018 by the project manager that the president was the most severe, criticizing the “Confusion of roles and functions” operated by Mr. Benalla, who has “Thrown the reproach on the function of police officer”. She showed the same severity regarding the use by Mr. Benalla of images from police CCTV cameras. “Senior officers had to violate professional secrecy in the sole interest of your media defense”, she notes, not without tackling, in passing, the fact that “The authorities at the Elysee Palace and at the Prefecture of Police, knowing your actions, did not report them”.
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