what does LFI rely on to see the hand of the government?

POLITICS – The accusation is serious, since it is the primordial principle of the separation of powers that is in question. After the summons of the president of the LFI group to the National Assembly, Mathilde Panot, and the candidate for the European elections Rima Hassan for “ apology for terrorism » against a backdrop of protest against the merciless offensive carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank, the Melenchonist troops explicitly designate the government as being the instigator of these procedures.

Procedures which also take place in the middle of the electoral campaign for the European elections, which gives these accusations an even more sensitive dimension, because it is an instrumentalization of justice for political ends which is described here. “Today, when we see France under Emmanuel Macron, it gives a pale copy of a certain number of authoritarian regimes in the world”said this Tuesday April 30 from the Palais Bourbon the national coordinator of France Insoumise, Manuel Bompard, before calling into question the independence of justice.

The circular of October 10

At issue, a circular sent by Éric Dupond-Moretti, asking prosecutors for a “ firm and rapid criminal response ” in front of ” the apology of terrorism » who would speak following the terrorist attack committed by Hamas against Israel on October 7. Which, according to the Keeper of the Seals, concerns “ comments praising the attacks, presenting them as legitimate resistance to Israel “. For Manuel Bompard, https://twitter.com/MathildePanot/status/1785284616720461904/photo/1the summons of the rebels https://twitter.com/LCP/status/1785292716441468986which aims to “ criminalize » speeches questioning the action of the Israeli government towards the Palestinian people.

Near Release on April 24, several legal specialists actually made a link between this circular and the multiplication of these criminal procedures, permitted since the Cazeneuve law of 2014. And for a simple reason: prosecutors are placed under the authority of the Minister of Justice. “ And the floor is disciplined. So if Dupond-Moretti demands the greatest speed and severity, the prosecution sticks to it”explained Olivier Cahn, professor of criminal law at the University of Cergy, quoted by the daily.

But is this enough to see in these summons the hand of the government, and a political desire to harm LFI through justice? For its part, the Ministry of Justice emphasizes that these procedures were opened following complaints, and that the public prosecutor’s offices in question did not take matters into their own hands. “ Justice has been seized, and it will say what it has to say, in complete independence “, has https://twitter.com/LCP/status/1785296156387385766 Éric Dupond-Moretti, denying any exploitation of justice. Very far from convincing the rebels, some of whom outright accuse the executive of pulling the strings of these procedures.

“Barbouzerie”

“No public prosecutor’s office is going to issue summons against the president of a parliamentary group without the approval of a minister, we know that very well,” replied the rebellious deputy for Haute-Garonne Hadrien Clouet, who perceives “ a desired political decision in an electoral period » behind these summons. “ It’s the hand of the government, it’s a black cabinet, it’s a sham “, he denounced, in an argument smacking of the defense of François Fillon during the 2017 presidential election. Without going so far as to repeat this vocabulary, the socialist deputy for Eure, Philippe Brun, also expressed the the idea of ​​government involvement.

“ I think there is a bit of zeal on the part of the judicial police. I wonder if there weren’t instructions that were given from above. With the reform of the judicial police we can ask ourselves the question », Estimated the elected PS, in reference to the concern that the recent reform of the PJ poses regarding the independence of the judiciary, and in particular on cases of business affecting the probity of elected officials.

Also see on HuffPost: