The first cohort of young men charged in the violent riots in Paris last weekend were all let off without any prison time, despite all having admitted to attacking police officers, and President Macron’s vow to bring those involved to justice.
Following Saturday’s victory in the Champions League final by Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, violent opportunists took advantage of the celebrations in the French capital to riot, loot, set fires, and attack police officers. During the chaos, over 700 fires were set, two people were killed, and a police officer was put into an artificial coma after suffering injuries. In total, nearly 600 people were arrested across France.
The first of those to appear before the 23rd criminal chamber of the Paris court were all freed after being given suspended sentences, meaning that none of them will serve any time in prison, despite their all having admitted to attacking police officers and gendarmes on Saturday, Le Figaro reports.
Instead of being jailed, the four men, aged between 20 and 22, received small fines and were mandated to attend “citizenship courses” in some cases.
The first to appear was 20-year-old Aurélien, who admitted to firing fireworks at gendarmes near Place de la Concorde at around 2 am Sunday morning. He admitted to purchasing the banned fireworks on Snapchat and that he knew possession of such materials was prohibited, but claimed that he was unaware they were dangerous. He claimed to have fired at the law enforcement officers out of “revenge” after they had deployed tear gas to disperse a mob. He received a suspended sentence of three months and a 500 euro fine.
Second in the dock was Bayo, who claims to have found a mortar firework in a bush and that someone else encouraged him to fire it at the police. He claimed to have done so “without ill will” and did not know the danger involved. Again, he received an eight-month suspended sentence, a 500 euro fine, and was mandated to attend a “citizenship course”.
Ali, a Tunisian migrant who admitted to throwing a tear gas grenade at police officers on the Champs-Élysées, argued that he was swept up by “crowd psychology” and was “not conscious” of his actions. This apparently convinced the Paris magistrates, who let him off with an eight-month suspended sentence and a “citizenship course”.
Finally, Brahim, who was arrested with a balaclava after also firing a fireworks mortar at police, claimed that he merely wanted to throw it above the police officers. Members of his family and his hijab wearing mother appeared before the court to testify to his good character and promising career in the healthcare sector.
The judges refused to consider a previous conviction for damage to a public space in 2017 because he was a minor at the time. Therefore, they released him on a two-month suspended sentence, with a 500 euro fine.
The lenient sentences came despite President Macron vowing in response to the riots: “We will pursue, we will punish, we will be implacable.” Members of Macron’s government were critical of the magistrates for the light sentences, including Keeper of the Seals (Minister of Justice) Gérald Darmanin.
“Following the serious public order incidents and repeated disturbances this weekend, some of the convictions for violence, particularly those committed against law enforcement and for destruction of property, are no longer commensurate with the violence our country is experiencing,” Darmanin said.
“Magistrates, in whom I have complete confidence and who apply the Penal Code in difficult conditions, must be able to judge these facts with a firm, simple sentencing scale that is truly adapted to today’s delinquency,” he added.
Darmanin said that laws must be updated to deal with the growing threat of riots in the country, suggesting that there should be at least a three-month minimum prison sentence for attacking representatives of the state and a “very high fine” for any public destruction.
Conservative MP Éric Ciotti quipped, “If only you were Keeper of the Seals!” suggesting that Darmamin should have already changed the law as justice minister.
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