this mayor of Seine-et-Marne convicted while accusing his ex-deputy

For many months, a conflict situation settled within the municipality of Cocherel. It all started with a dispute of unknown nature between the mayor of Cocherel and his second assistant, Christian Rolin, and the subjects of discord have multiplied. The situation only got worse until Pierre Eelbode decided to withdraw your delegation then to bring him a trial.

He took as a pretext the discovery in 2024 of a taking out a new telephone subscription to the supplier Orange by his deputy, a year earlier. Considering himself the sole holder of this prerogative, he accused Christian Rolin of having made a forged document and had usurped his identity. He then had his services terminate the contract.

“You must condemn him!” »

A judgment could have taken place in September 2024 but the ordering of a referral postponed it for a few months. The two parties therefore met this Tuesday, January 14, 2025 at the Meaux court.

Before examining the case, the president of the hearing gave the floor to Maître Ramadier, lawyer for the ex-deputy, to support his conclusions of nullity in the interest of his client. His intervention opened the door to some ironic exchanges. He first addressed a point of law by arguing that the citation addressed to Christian Rolin does not did not comply with the mandatory information, as mentioned in the Code of Criminal Procedure: the location of the offenses is not specified.

Then, he reminded the opposing party that the case was judged by the Meaux Criminal Court and not by the Paris Judicial Court, as recorded on their document. A quick tip on the limits of copying and pasting!

His colleague's counterattack was quick: “It's a good try. I recognize this as the reflex of an old criminal veteran! » He then began his argument by highlighting the courage of a dedicated mayor to his commune for many years, having to both assume his municipal responsibilities and face the jealousies of some of his constituents.

Then, he listed the defendant's actions intended to support the accusations and an excessive desire to become mayor: a photo on Facebook while wearing his tricolor scarf, comments reported by residents indicating his wish to “knock out the mayor”a pressure exerted on a town hall employee to file a complaint against the councilor for sexual harassment, according to the testimony of the human resources manager.

He tried to convince the court of a necessary declaration of guilt of Christian Rolin: “You must condemn him!” If you happen to not find him guilty, then tomorrow I will see no obstacle in presenting myself as President of the Bar! » He concluded by asking for €10,000 in damages and €3,000 for lawyer's fees.

“This quote is infamy! »

The public prosecutor having abstained from any requisition, Maître Ramadier pleaded. Showing slight irritation, he did not spare the opposing party: “So much diluting to demonstrate the non-existent! Monopolizing criminal court time for imaginary offenses is unacceptable! »

He simply provided a few details: for the photo with the scarf, Christian Rolin came to officiate at a wedding . And regarding the telephone line, it had become necessary to dissociate calls and messageslinked to his mission as elected representative of those related to his activity as company manager.

He described the atmosphere established in the commune as “ridiculous belligerence” and “smoke-mongering” of part of his colleague's words aimed at compensating for the lack of evidence . He joked about the sudden discovery of the telephone line – a real “open secret!” » – since the invoices reached the accounting department of the town hall since the start of the contract.

He ended his remarks with a request for release and compensation of €3,000, and exclaimed: “This quote is infamy! »

The judges rejected the conclusions of nullity, the breaches being not likely to affect the rights of the defense. They have relaxed Christian Rolin, considering that the facts had not been established. On the other hand, they considered the procedure of the mayor of Cocherel, Pierre Eelbode, abusiveand fined him €1,000. He of course has a few days to appeal the judgment.

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