The controversy swelled, pushing the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) to intervene. Justice is “the only legitimate one to decide on the placement or not in provisional detention of the people who are presented to it”, recalled the instance on Monday.
This “adjustment” of the CSM, a constitutional body which assists the President of the Republic in his mission of guarantor of the independence of justice, comes after remarks by the boss of the national police, according to which “before a possible trial, a police officer has no place in prison “. These statements follow the remand in custody last week of a Marseille BAC policeman suspected of having beaten a young man on the sidelines of the riots in early July, a decision that angered police unions.
The right applies “to everyone, without exception”
The remarks of the director general of the national police (DGPN), Frédéric Veaux, aroused the indignation of part of the political class and the two main unions of magistrates, who considered them “very serious”. From New Caledonia, where he is visiting, President Emmanuel Macron refused to comment on these remarks. However, he said he understood the “emotion” of the police while affirming that “no one in the Republic is above the law”.
“By virtue of the principle of separation of powers, the founding principle of the rule of law, the judicial authority is the only legitimate authority to decide whether or not to place in pre-trial detention persons presented to it within the framework of the procedures which it is up to it to examine and assess, in strict compliance with the rules of law, which apply to all, without exception”, writes the CSM in a press release. “The Council recalls that the judicial authority must be able to accomplish its missions, free from all pressure, in complete independence and in complete impartiality”, he adds in this “clarification”.