“And so, you didn’t steal the compotes from the store at the naval base? . Embarrassed facial expressions of the three, with their feet turning around. The boldest looks up and promises that “no. The liquid compotes were in the home, we took them like that in the boxes.” 87 gourds in all. President Kérisit, in the laughing murmur of the court room, laughs frankly then apologizes. “There is no mockery. It’s a laugh, that’s all.”
Fatally visible
Friday December 20, 2024 in the morning, single judge, criminal hearing in Brest. The lot of these “small” cases features this one, and these 22-year-olds who bring it all together. They have no criminal record, are sincerely fighting for their future and are more apologetic and polite than usual. It was two years ago, in September 2022, that two of them, under the flags, stole from the base store. Especially sports shoes. They sold them to a third thief, a student posted in the Paris region, who was in charge of resale.
For all it cost him in hotel accommodation and procedural fees, it was well worth it.
Profit: around €600, including €200 and a little more for the dealer of army shoes, with a 35% margin on business profits. “For all that it cost him in hotel accommodation and procedural costs, it was well worth it,” quips Mr. Le Saos, who is saddened in unison by the mediocrity of the case. For what it also costs in work, according to the two considerable volumes of paperwork piled up on the judge’s desk.
“It’s true that there is not much to say,” President Kérisit had previously agreed, joined in her rapid analysis by prosecutor Johanny. “It was a theft with a total absence of emotion,” says the public prosecutor, “and then at one point, the disappearance of the tennis boxes ended up being seen.” Those of lasagna noodles and compotes too.
A punishment for the principle
The three defendants were quick, through their defenders, to point out that this store was open to all winds. Well almost, “there was a code but that everyone knew. It hadn’t been changed in years.” Above all, what saves them is their recovery from this moment of confusion. One is fighting to enter law school, the second is negotiating for a return to active duty in the army and the Parisian is taking competitive exams to be a teacher: “In principle, it takes no more than a sentence of principle” summarizes Me Rustique. The two thieves were sentenced to a €600 fine (one of which was suspended for €300) and a €300 suspended fine for the shoe receiver. Which makes the packet of compote expensive.
