Assuming her position as a pebble in the shoe, Sylvie Petit-Leclair recalled the good memories of the Monegasque microcosm this Monday. The former Secretary of State for Justice and former director of Judicial Services, dismissed from her functions at the beginning of September, took advantage of the institution’s solemn return to school to write a press release in which she deplores, once again, the terms “iniquitous and scandalous” of his departure.
An eviction that she describes as “arbitrary” and for which she confirms that she will continue to oppose it through legal means. “I will not hesitate to share my truth with the media which have a key role to play so that institutional balance, the fight against corruption and freedom of expression regain their rightful place in the Principality. I will not allow myself to be impressed by the humiliations, annoyances, pressures and attempts at intimidation which have not been spared to me for several weeks.”
The French magistrate, who pleads to keep “true esteem and sincere affection” for the Sovereign, maintains his thesis according to which the premature end of his mandate which ran until spring 2025 is the fact of “certain harmful influences no longer allow the Head of State to demonstrate the desire, previously displayed, to support the proposals intended to consolidate the Principality as a State governed by law. Recent developments in the police-justice sphere seem to show that the normal functioning of the rule of law is sometimes undermined, which is not acceptable for a partner country of France and member of the Council of Europe.
The strike is aimed at the princely entourage and Sylvie Petit-Leclair wishes “all possible success” to his successor, “who has the qualities to meet the many challenges that await him.”
At the Courthouse this Tuesday morning, certain speakers paid tribute to the work accomplished by the outgoing Secretary of State for Justice. Francis Jullemier-Millasseau, first president of the court of appeal, praised his care in developing training in particular.
The Attorney General, Stéphane Thibault, recalled that “during the difficult period of Moneyval’s observation of the Principality, Madame Petit-Leclair notably initiated legislative reforms which were successful and allowed the various institutions acting in the fight against money laundering to progress and be more effective, and we can give him credit for that because it was not an easy task.”
