The attacks of January 2015, then those of November, brought Paris prosecutor François Molins to the forefront. Through his press conferences, the magistrate interfered in the homes of the French.
“No camera gaze glued to the teleprompter, but eyes that are reassured by reading a paper”, then described Pascale Robert-Diard and Emeline Cazi in The World. “White background, then blue background, the only concession to the codes of communication. No questions, just a statement. Facts, dates, times, figures. Subject, verb, complement, imperfect indicative. The words sometimes stumble, the voice retains a gravelly background, the arms get bored of being too big. And yet, as long as he speaks, we don't let him go. The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, is the voice of the attacks. »
The notoriety of this man in the field, who was then 62 years old, goes far beyond the circle of those who regularly work with him. Everyone is waiting for his explanations. “It was obvious that we had to communicate. There was a need to know what was going on. But we must be careful not to fall into media immediacy”specified Mr. Molins at Monde with eight years of hindsight. He explains that “everything was precise, nothing was improvised”.
In September 2016, the man gave a rare interview to Monde. In this exchange, led by Jean-Baptiste Jacquin, Julia Pascual and Soren Seelow, he explains why he decided to qualify offenses linked to terrorism (until then considered as misdemeanors) as crimes, therefore punishable by twenty or thirty years of imprisonment. prison rather than ten years.
“It’s about protecting society by keeping these individuals in prison longer, then explains the magistrate. This first has a function of rehabilitation and resocialization. But you don't make a donkey drink if it's not thirsty. When we come across individuals impregnated by this deadly ideology, keeping them locked up is perhaps not the noblest mission, it at least has the imperative virtue of protecting society. »
