No palace revolution at Place Vendôme. Tried for illegal taking of interests by the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, was declared “not guilty” and released this Wednesday afternoon.
The judges of the CJR therefore did not follow the requisitions of the prosecution, which had requested a one-year suspended prison sentence against the minister, accused of having taken advantage of his functions to settle scores with magistrates with which he had had trouble with when he was still a lawyer.
The majority relieved
As expected, political reactions were numerous. Starting with the Prime Minister: “The Minister of Justice will be able to continue to carry out his action within the government team, in the service of the French. I am delighted,” responded Elisabeth Borne on X (formerly Twitter). Same tone in the majority. “Here is his honor cleared: he will emerge stronger (and) his place in government remains intact,” declared the boss of the Macronist senators, François Patriat. At the same time, MoDem deputy Bruno Millienne was pleased that “justice (has) been done”, and his colleague Mathieu Lefèvre (Renaissance) said he was “more than ever alongside” Eric Dupond-Moretti “ to continue to modernize justice in our country and strengthen the criminal response.”
The Elysée did not immediately comment on the CJR’s decision, but Emmanuel Macron’s support was seen in the invitation sent to the Minister of Justice. He had been received by the president since 4 p.m.
LFI wants to abolish the CJR
As expected (bis), the opposition reacted unfavorably to the decision. The deputies of the LFI group thus called, via press release, for the outright abolition of the CJR. A “systematically biased inter-jurisdiction”, they say. It is a “arm of honor to the idea of justice”, added MP Ugo Bernalicis to the Assembly.
“Parliamentarians who judge a minister, this refers to the image of the inter-self”, estimated for his part Arthur Delaporte, spokesperson for the PS deputies, according to whom “Eric Dupond-Moretti should have resigned “. On the green side, Cyrielle Chatelain pointed out “the fact that politicians can judge another politician”. Finally, at the RN, spokesperson Thomas Ménage says “respect this decision”. But, he accuses, Eric Dupond-Moretti is not innocent: he “is politically guilty of the situation of insecurity in the country, of laxity”.