The French justice minister is on trial, accused of abuse of power

Even in France, where cases of political corruption are rife, it was a sight to behold: the country’s justice minister stood alone before two rows of judges in a centuries-old wood-paneled courtroom to defend himself against accusations about his own use – or misuse – of electricity.

Although he made his name in France as a combative criminal lawyer who could destroy witnesses or juries, Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti presented himself on Tuesday as the opposite – a new minister deeply honored by the task entrusted to him and who learned the ropes, followed advice and worked hard, and whose sole, worrying goal was to succeed in the job. Not, he said with flourish, ‘frothing at the mouth’, hoping to take revenge.

The case marks the first time a sitting minister has been tried in France, and if he is found guilty it will be a blow to President Emmanuel Macron, who came to power promising to tighten ethical standards in French politics.

But what makes it even more extraordinary is that Mr Dupond-Moretti, as Minister of Justice, is being tried in the system he still oversees. Many of the more than two dozen witnesses scheduled to testify during the 10-day trial, which started Monday, are sitting judges or top legal officials who, in theory, would ultimately have to answer to him.

Among the assigned judges are political rivals from opposition parties, dressed for the occasion in black robes and white ruffled collars, sitting under the gold chandeliers in the courtroom where Philippe Pétain, the French president who collaborated with the Nazi regime during World War II , was heard. tried and convicted of treason some eighty years ago.

The charges against Mr Dupond-Moretti are far from that level.

These are two separate incidents, dating from shortly after his appointment as Minister of Justice in July 2020. His appointment itself was considered “a declaration of war on the judiciary” as he “despises judges” and “does not hesitate to insult them ‘. the president of the country’s largest union of judges stated on national radio at the time.

In one case, Mr Dupond-Moretti launched a disciplinary investigation against three magistrates from the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office who had ordered police to search his own telephone records when he was still a lawyer.

Ostensibly, Dupond-Moretti’s office launched the investigation in an attempt to determine the identity of a possible mole in a separate case involving former President Nicolas Sarkozy, even though a judicial review had already cleared them of any wrongdoing.

In the second incident, Mr Dupond-Moretti initiated administrative proceedings against a judge, Édouard Levrault, who had investigated one of his former clients. In that case too, Mr Levrault was ultimately cleared of any disciplinary breach.

“Even if these judges weren’t good judges — maybe they didn’t work well, maybe they should have been sanctioned — that’s not the problem,” said Paul Cassia, vice president of Anticor, a nonprofit anti-corruption association that filed a complaint . to start the lawsuit, together with three judges’ unions. “The problem is that a minister cannot use his authority in a matter that concerns his personal interests.”

Standing alone on a glass podium in the palm of the room, surrounded by rows of judges and spectators, Mr. Dupond-Moretti argued Tuesday that he was following his office’s advice on files he inherited from his predecessor.

If found guilty, he faces five years in prison and a fine of half a million euros. He could also be barred from public office.

However, few expect this to happen.

The court hearing the case, called the Court of Justice of the Republic, was established in 1993 specifically to try members of the government cabinet for crimes allegedly committed while carrying out their official duties.

Since then, it has handled fewer than a dozen cases. The court, made up of three professional judges and 12 lawmakers – half from the Senate, half from the National Assembly – has long been criticized for being both politically partisan and too lenient on fellow politicians.

She has never sentenced anyone to prison and has often even imposed suspended sentences.

In a famous example, the court acquitted former Interior Minister Charles Pasqua in two damning cases of embezzlement, one involving a Corsican casino license he granted to friends in exchange for financing his political activities. The former minister-turned-senator was found complicit in the misuse of corporate funds in connection with a government-backed company that exported police equipment, but given his age and the service he has rendered to his country, gave him a one-year suspended prison sentence.

Meanwhile, one of the men who had been granted the casino license was sentenced by another court to four years in prison, two of which were conditional, and a fine of 150,000 euros.

“The jurisdiction is highly political because it takes into account factors that ordinary courts do not take into account,” says Cécile Guérin-Bargues, author of “Trying Politicians? The Court of Justice of the Republic.”

The specter of parliamentarians taking a vow of objectivity and donning black robes to judge a sitting minister in their own party, or someone they are sparring with politically, has also sparked fierce criticism in the country for years.

“A judge should not be biased towards the person he judges, and that is the case – the 12 parliamentarians are biased,” said Mr Cassia, who is also a professor of law at Université Paris 1. “Whatever ruling they speak out, she will be considered biased for or against Dupond-Moretti. That is not good.”

Although not constitutionally required, in most cases where politicians face criminal charges, politicians resign during the trial. Mr Dupond-Moretti has refused to follow suit, and the government has backed that decision, even renaming him to his powerful post after a cabinet reshuffle last July, long after the legal proceedings began.

“The image of justice will not improve through this process, nor will the image of politics,” said Ms. Guérin-Bargues. “No one will win.”

The case was already embarrassing for President Macron, who in the past promised to abolish the specialized court.

Gendarmes searched the Justice Ministry offices on the elegant Place Vendôme, and former Prime Minister Jean Castex is expected to take the stand.

Mr Dupond-Moretti is not known for his restraint and has labeled the case as a malicious attempt by vengeful judges’ unions to humiliate him and force him to resign.

“I feel like I have been abused,” he said in court on Tuesday.

Mr. Dupond-Moretti was known as a reckless criminal lawyer who won dozens of acquittals, but also intimidated witnesses and even judges.

Among the long list of clients he has defended are Jérôme Kerviel, the rogue trader who nearly brought down a top French bank; Karim Benzema, a star footballer; and Abdelkader Merah, whose brother Mohammed killed three French paratroopers, a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in southwestern France in 2012.

To say he loves the spotlight would be an understatement. In 2019, the year before he was appointed minister, Mr Dupond-Moretti appeared on a Paris stage in a one-man game about his life.

He also likes confrontation. In March, during a public session in the National Assembly, where ministers responded from the front rows to questions from parliamentarians, Dupond-Moretti famously upended an opposition. legislator’s finger.

Juliette Gueron-Gabrielle And Aurelien Breeden research contributed.