Presidential candidate Xavier Bertrand wants to apply minimum automatic prison sentences to attackers of police officers, firefighters, or mayors. – Marceau Voituron / SIPA
Xavier Bertrand proposed Tuesday during an interview on Europe 1 to set up “a minimum automatic prison sentence of one year not suitable” for attackers of police, gendarmes, firefighters or mayors. In order to implement this measure, “I will ask the French to vote” in the fall of 2022 on a modification of the Constitution, specified the candidate (ex-LR) declared in the presidential election of 2022.
With such a text, “there could not have been an acquittal” in the appeal trial of the violent assault of police officers in Viry-Châtillon (Essonne) in 2016, for which five young people were sentenced to terms on Saturday. ranging from six to 18 years in prison and eight others acquitted. The thirteen were accused of having been part of the twenty hooded people who attacked two police cars with Molotov cocktails.
“This is the only way to end impunity”
On his Facebook account, the president of Hauts-de-France then explained that “the minimum automatic sentence is simply the guarantee that when the person concerned is found guilty, and if and only if the trial concludes in his guilt, he is sentenced to a minimum prison sentence, without suspension, without any possible modification of the sentence ”.
Xavier Bertrand also invoked a principle of “co-action” where, “from the moment when people are convinced of having participated in the action […], you have a minimum sentence ”. “When you are engaged in a gang, a gathering that is guilty of violence, the penalties of some are worth the penalties of others,” he said. This remains “a sentence pronounced by a court, there is respect for the adversarial, a file, evidence”, but according to him “it is the only way to break impunity” because “in this process of decivilization, he is important to mark a real halt ”.
“Logic of the roundup”
Xavier Bertrand insisted that with this proposal “we respect the fundamental principles of criminal law”. Thus “individualization [de la peine] remains “, but” in such a way that it does not prevent the application of a mandatory minimum sentence “, and for that” we need a change of the Constitution “, he added.
This proposal had strongly reacted the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, according to whom it would amount to “automatically send to prison any person arrested without proof or trial”. “No police officer, no magistrate will agree to substitute the principle of Justice for the logic of the roundup,” he said on Twitter. A reaction described as “unworthy” by the president of Hauts-de-France. “Protect those who protect us, yes. Break our most fundamental rights, no ”, also reacted on Twitter the delegate general of En Marche Stanislas Guerini.