Does the death of the priest Olivier Maire in Vendée translate “a triple bankruptcy” of the State as denounced by the deputy LR Eric Ciotti on Tuesday? Like other right-wing or far-right politicians like Marine Le Pen, the elected official considered that the government had “failed” in the face of “delinquency”, “criminality” and “non-immigration. controlled ”.
Charges defended by the Ministers of Justice and the Interior. What was the administrative and judicial situation of Emmanuel A., the suspect who surrendered to the police on Monday, August 9? And were there any failures on the part of the authorities? 20 minutes make the point.
An administrative decision pending
Emmanuel A. arrived in Loire-Atlantique in 2012. Originally from Rwanda, this man was refused his asylum request by the Ministry of the Interior and Ofpra, the office responsible for the protection of refugees and stateless persons. In an irregular situation on the territory, Emmanuel A. was the subject of “three orders of escort to the border”, specified Monday Gérald Darmanin. But two of these decisions taken by the prefect of Loire-Atlantique were overturned by the administrative court. In November 2019, subject to a third obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), the suspect filed a new appeal,
as allowed by law.
But this time the administrative court did not have time to render its decision. Because on July 18, 2020, Emmanuel A., was arrested for the fire in Nantes cathedral. A volunteer at the parish, he had confessed to the facts and had been indicted for “destruction and damage by fire”. Two days later he was remanded in custody.
In a message posted this Tuesday on his Facebook page, the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti thus justified: “The last obligation to leave the territory (OQTF) of which the suspect was the object was not carried out. Not out of angelism but for the sake of justice! The same people who denounce this situation would have screamed with impunity if the suspect had been removed and if he had thus escaped his trial, without any assurance either that his sentence would be carried out in his country of origin ”.
Placement under judicial supervision
But then why did this man get out of prison while being pursued in the investigation into the fire in the cathedral? “In France, there is a maximum duration for pre-trial detention. When it is a crime which is committed, this duration is fixed at one year. Every four months, the judge chooses whether or not to renew the pre-trial detention ”, specifies Cécile Parisot, president of the USM, the majority union in the judiciary. However, in this specific case, Emmanuel A. had almost reached the maximum length of pre-trial detention authorized by law.
“His pre-trial detention was legally due to end in July 2021 (…) therefore judicial control was the only solution. Unless we consider that arbitrary detention must become the rule in our country, ”criticized Eric Dupond-Moretti. On May 31, Emmanuel A. was therefore released from prison and was placed under judicial supervision, with the obligation of residence within the Vendée religious community, according to the La-Roche-Sur-Yon prosecutor’s office.
But could he be deported while a judicial investigation against him was underway in France? No, believes Cécile Parisot: “When a person is awaiting trial, whether or not they are under judicial control, they are kept in the country. Because it is particularly important that this person can explain himself – he is still presumed innocent – and because it is also important for the victims ”. In certain cases, specifies the magistrate, the obligation to remain on the French territory until the holding of the trial can even be claimed by a judge, within the framework of this judicial control.
The question of criminal liability
A question now arises: that of the criminal responsibility of Emmanuel A. Less than three weeks after his release from prison, the man had expressed his desire to leave his forced accommodation. He was then hospitalized in psychiatry, before returning on July 29 to the religious community of Father Olivier Maire. A psychological instability which justified, this Monday, the lifting of his police custody deemed “incompatible” with his state of health. He has since been interned.