Overview

• Speaking on RTL while promoting his book Juré, craché, the former justice minister warned that executive pressure on the judiciary risks a slide toward totalitarianism.
• He called it a fault for the sitting justice minister to publicly criticize court rulings, arguing the office must guarantee judicial independence.
• Gérald Darmanin answered on X with “Je plaide coupable,” asserting that the security of the French is his top priority and citing firm measures in justice and prisons, including high-security facilities validated by state institutions.
• Éric Dupond-Moretti accused Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau of attacking the Constitutional Council and instrumentalizing penal law to blame judges for legislative shortcomings.
• The dispute follows ministerial criticism of recent judicial outcomes, including releases under control in the Tourcoing police assault case and sentences after PSG-related unrest, despite norms and a 2013 rule limiting ministerial commentary on individual cases.