The new Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, chose Amiens for his first official trip. He went to the Palace of Justice where he had the opportunity to discuss the major challenges awaiting him during his mandate.
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Barely appointed Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin made his first public appearance this Wednesday, December 25 at the Amiens courthouse. The objective: to salute the work of the agents of the Ministry of Justice and to say more about what awaits him in his new functions.
He says to himself “extremely honored by the proposal which [lui] was made” by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister. “I had the opportunity, yesterday in Vendôme, during the transfer of power, to say what my objectives were. These are those, I believe, of the magistrates, of the public agents of the Ministry of Justice, of all the French”he continues.
Among his objectives, he cites the fact of accelerating justice “unfortunately too slow” in his eyes now. The minister, however, highlights improvements in the speed of decisions, particularly in Amiens thanks to “a digital procedure that works”. Speed also requires more staff, therefore more clerks and magistrates. Gérald Darmanin counts, in his new functions, “being able to obtain additional credits while understanding national budgetary constraints”.
Starting Monday, he will meet the Minister of Public Accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, to “to discuss this extremely important issue” and agree on staffing, recruitment and resources that would allow the Ministry of Justice to operate more quickly.
Also, he highlights the question of the new 2025 budget, “since it is not with the special law that we will be able to obtain these means, therefore politically, I hope that all parliamentarians will be reasonable to make justice work well, so that it is more rapid and firm, as the French and the magistrates are waiting for it”.
We cannot do justice without magistrates, clerks, prison officers, without youth protection officers, without those who are auxiliaries of justice. Nor can we do it without the legal professions.
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Justice
Faced with the outcry from certain judicial unions after the announcement of his appointment, the new Minister of Justice claims to be a man of dialogue: “I called all the union officials to tell them that they had my personal telephone number, that I was very happy to work with them in this magnificent ministry that they serve and that I would meet with them tomorrow to those who are in Paris, and from next week obviously for the others. All subjects must be put on the table..
Gérald Darmanin also underlines the need to build more courts, including this one “from the Lille metropolis, but also to Mayotte or Marseille”. The construction of detention centers is also in its sights, but “what we must see is that the 15,000 prison places plan, although it was budgeted, could not be built in time for many reasons, notably the fact that no one would like to have a prison near home”.
He also says he is sensitive to short sentences which, according to him, must be carried out systematically. “Maybe we shouldn't build prisons [dans le modèle habituel]we don't always have prisons for people who serve 20 years in prison with watchtowers and barbed wire which make them expensive. They are important, difficult to build and, on average, it takes 7 years for the Ministry of Justice.” to build one.
He would rather wish “doing things much more on a human scale, almost everywhere on the national territory” so that once the sentence has been pronounced by “independent magistrates”this is executed “in the hours and days to come”. For that, “we need more places of detention and undoubtedly places of detention for minor sentences”.
The French thirst for justice. They want quick, fair and firm decisions. My job is not to make decisions in place of magistrates but to give direction, a definition of penal policy in particular, but also resources.
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Justice
Other themes were mentioned by Gérald Darmanin: that of consent which he will have “the opportunity” to speak “with parliamentarians and the Prime Minister”the “Islamic separatism” but also domestic violence, a very present reality in the Somme department.
He describes violence “more unbridled” in France to which justice must provide a response “extremely firm”. “Let us not forget, of course, that violence against women is a continent that we discover every day and, thanks to the work of agents of the Ministry of Justice and the police, we are able to respond to a part of these difficulties”specifies the minister. He nevertheless admits that they still have “a lot of work”especially since this violence will “de pair” with those made for children.
Finally, “the first goal” of the criminal aspect of the ministry is the fight against drug trafficking. “We will resume discussions with the Ministry of the Interior very quickly on the bill to fight against drug banditry and I will do everything possible”. He will also go to Marseille next week to discuss this subject.
