It is a fight that they have been carrying “for nearly twenty years”. Lawyers Didier Seban and Corinne Hermann, partners to defend the memory of “forgotten victims”, specialize in cases of serial and unsolved crimes. Alongside the families of the disappeared from Yonne, the victims of Michel Fourniret or Jacques Rançon, the two penalists witnessed the dead ends encountered by French justice in these complex cases.
To improve the treatment of what Americans call “cold cases”, they have long pleaded for the creation of a national pole dedicated to these matters. Last November, a first step forward was taken by parliamentarians with the final vote of the law “strengthening confidence in the judicial institution”. The text, promulgated in December, provides for the creation of a pole entirely responsible for these crimes. This Wednesday, in an exclusive interview with 20 minutes, the Minister of Justice announces its launch on March 1 in Nanterre.
Territorialization and a lack of time
“We were asking for it loud and clear, it’s obviously very important to us. It’s the start of something, ”greets lawyer Didier Seban. The creation of a national pole could, according to him, overcome the many difficulties encountered in these cases. “Until now, the competence of an examining magistrate was linked to the place of discovery of the body. To this territorialization of justice is added the geographical division between police and gendarmerie zones. However, we know that serial killers roam around and have nothing to do with these legal borders, ”he explains.
The other pitfall raised by the families of the victims is that of the time granted by the magistrates to these dormant procedures. “In the case of the disappearance of Estelle Mouzin, we are at the eighth examining magistrate. How do you expect him to get hold of this file when it takes almost a year to read it alone? “Asks Didier Seban, who represents the father of the girl who disappeared 19 years ago.
The former magistrate Laurence Vichnievsky, Modem deputy since 2017, agrees: “These procedures have suffered greatly from the changes of magistrates. “Added to this is the workload that weighs on the investigating judges:” When you want to deal with this kind of case, it’s difficult to do it with a hundred other cases to be managed in parallel “, explains the elected at the origin of the amendment which proposed the creation of this national pole.
International mutual aid and resources allocated
The centralization of these “cold cases” could also facilitate international assistance, analyzes General Fabrice Bouillié, who heads the central criminal intelligence service of the national gendarmerie (SCRCGN). “In certain surveys, it is sometimes necessary to forge international partnerships, as we have seen with Michel Fourniret in particular. In my opinion, the creation of this specialized pole will bring added value in this area, ”said the soldier.
Finally, if France has “long considered that serial killers did not exist and were an American specificity”, underlines Didier Seban, the criminal chain seems little by little to specialize on the subject. Under the authority of General Fabrice Bouillié, a division called “Diane” based in Pontoise and inaugurated in 2021 is now responsible for these unresolved cases. Born in the wake of the Nordahl Lelandais affair, this team of around thirty gendarmes analyzes the life courses, the modus operandi and the profiles of the perpetrators to establish or not the “serial dimension” of certain crimes.
It remains to be seen what volume of business could come to this pole. According to the Minister of Justice, there are now 173 unsolved crimes in progress for which justice is seized and 68 procedures for serial crimes. That is to say a total of 241 files. An “underestimated” figure, according to Didier Seban. “In our firm, we have already identified a Fifty files which could fall under this specialized pole. The question of the resources allocated to these teams will therefore be very important, ”concludes the lawyer.