Judicial unions express their “concern” after the appointment of Gérald Darmanin to the Ministry of Justice.
The entry of the former Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, into the Ministry of Justice within the government of François Bayrou, worries those involved in justice. The current deputy from the North thus forms a tandem with Bruno Retailleau, reappointed to the Ministry of the Interior. A duo that worries the judiciary union.
“The appointment of Gérald Darmanin as Minister of Justice, combined with the reappointment of Bruno Retailleau as Minister of the Interior, is a sign of a future alignment of the roadmaps of these two sovereign ministries,” comments the union of the judiciary in a press release released to the press this Tuesday, December 24.
The fear of a “further decline in respect for the rule of law”
“It raises fears of a further decline in respect for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary – a decline to which Gérald Darmanin has already largely contributed,” continues the union. The new tenant of Place Vendôme was Minister of the Interior under Emmanuel Macron until the dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024.
“As Minister of the Interior, he regularly put respect for procedures and the interest of the State in competition, suggesting that the law was more of an obstacle to the action of the executive, than a prerequisite for the protection and equal treatment of citizens”, recalls the magistrates' union.
“A craftsman of catastrophic reforms for justice and its effectiveness, he has also led policies of maintaining order which have lastingly undermined public freedoms. But he has also demonstrated on numerous occasions that he did not care about the independence of justice.”
This Monday, December 23, already, Ludovic Friatpresident of the Union of Magistrates, reacted on BFMTV to the appointment of Gérald Darmanin to Justice. “This is a matter of concern for us”. The Ministry of Justice “does not at all have the same culture and the same way of functioning as the Ministry of the Interior”, he notably underlined .
A tweet about Marine Le pen exhumed
In its press release, the magistrates' union did not fail to mention Gérald Darmanin's comment and his “criticisms” of “judicial decisions which displeased him”. After the announcement of his appointment as head of the Ministry of Justice, an old tweet from Darmanin was unearthed.
The deputy from the North commented on December 13 on the court decision after the requisitions in the trial of the RN parliamentary assistants, and the risk of a sentence of ineligibility for Marine Le Pen.
“It would be deeply shocking if Marine Le Pen were deemed ineligible and, thus, could not stand before the vote of the French. Fighting Madame Le Pen is done at the ballot box, not elsewhere,” wrote Gérald Darmanin.
This Tuesday, December 24, during the transfer of power ceremony, Didier Migaud reminded Gérald Darmanin that being Keeper of the Seals “means not being able to express oneself publicly.” You must “keep your opinions, your reactions, your emotions to yourself,” said the former Minister of Justice.
