A pleasant surprise for the lawyer, a disappointment for his client. In July 2020, Éric Dupond-Moretti was appointed Keeper of the Seals. News that upsets Théodore Luhaka. Until now, the 28-year-old young man, who was seriously injured during a police check in 2017 in Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), was defended by the famous criminal lawyer. He saw it as “a bulwark against injustice”, he confided one day to the Parisian. “When you have him in your camp, you put a lot of chances on your side to win. If it wasn’t my lawyer, I would be much more worried about the trial,” he added. So, when he learned that his council was hanging up the black dress, he was “a little dejected” and experienced the announcement “like abandonment”, indicated his sister, Eléonore, daily.
It must be said that the media lawyer spared no effort to defend his client, whose version was contradicted by the police unions. Éric Dupond-Moretti and his ex-associate, Me Antoine Vey, notably took up the pen in March 2018 in the JDD, to respond to divisional commissioner Céline Berthon. Then general secretary of the union of national police commissioners, the one who has just been appointed head of the DGSI had “demanded”, in an article published in Le Figaro, that Théo apologizes to the police, saying that the officials involved were “beyond the cause”. “We think we’re dreaming!” » replied the young man’s defenders. “No, the police will not have an excuse. On the contrary, it would be up to her to present them,” they emphasized, adding that Céline Berthon would “better to keep quiet.”
“Extremely serious, unacceptable violence”
On Canal +, the lawyer specified that Théo had “got smashed by the police”. “There is at least some extremely serious violence that is unacceptable,” he insisted. His client has become, over time, a symbol of police violence. Obviously, the appointment of Eric Dupond-Moretti at Place Vendôme was warmly welcomed by the police. Relations between the Minister of Justice and the police have long been stormy. In May 2021, during a rally in front of the National Assembly, the general secretary of the Alliance union, Fabien Vanhemelryck, launched from the podium: “The problem of the police is justice. » These “inadmissible” and “unacceptable” comments, the minister then retorted.
Since then, relations between the police and Eric Dupond-Moretti seem to have calmed down. The minister, who privately boasts of his good relations with the Minister of the Interior, was even invited to the Alliance congress in April 2023. In his speech, he thanked the police officers “who, every day, risk their lives so that we live in peace”. “You deserve our respect and support. » Words appreciated by the general secretary of the trade union organization. “We are not on the same wavelength, but his arrival proves that by exchanging, we can be constructive,” explained to World Fabien Vanhemelryck. And the latter added: “At the beginning, he was the minister of prisoners. Today, he understands that there are problems and he sends instructions for more firmness. There is progression. »