And at each appearance, announcements: construction of penitentiary establishments intended for petty crime, extension of the duration of police custody in cases of aggravated sexual violence and feminicides… Certain measures may have created controversy. Gérald Darmanin notably indicated that he wanted “clean cut” operations in prisons, in reference to the operations launched at the end of 2023 against drug trafficking, which were highly publicized and whose effectiveness is in doubt. He also wants to generalize cell phone jamming systems in penitentiaries and put the 100 biggest drug traffickers currently in prison in solitary confinement, as is done with terrorists. Objective: to prevent drug lords from continuing to run their network from their cells.
These last two measures are not new. Gérald Darmanin’s predecessor, Didier Migaud, presented them in mid-November. “It is not acceptable that traffickers continue their crimes from their prison, that they can even order murders there.” declared the short-lived minister in the Barnier government, who lacks the sense of communication and the shock phrase of his successor.
Whether they are carried by Didier Migaud or Gérald Darmanin, certain measures do not convince those first concerned. Unions from the world of justice and criminal lawyers, for example, have serious doubts as to the applicability of the measure relating to the prison isolation of drug traffickers, due in particular to the criteria to be defined to establish the list and prison overcrowding. . These same actors are, above all, demanding more human and therefore financial resources.
Didier Migaud, the anti-Dupond Moretti at Justice
For comparison, according to the latest report from the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (Cepej), France spent, in 2022, 77.20 euros per year and per inhabitant to finance its judicial system, when Germany dedicated 136.10 euros there, and Belgium, 102.50 euros. Another revealing element of this report: France has 3.2 prosecutors per 100,000 inhabitants – the lowest score in the European Union after Ireland – while Germany has 7.7 and Belgium, 7.5 .
Presidential ambitions
But regardless of the criticism, Gérald Darmanin has achieved his objective: to make an impression. He wants to occupy the field, as he did when he was Minister of the Interior before finding himself a deputy, and less visible, after the early legislative elections. He who aims for justice”firmer, more intense” wants to once again embody authority, one of the voters’ favorite themes, just like his replacement at the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, supporter of the hard right line.
Darmanin comes out of the woods for the 2027 French presidential election
The offensive attitude of Gérald Darmanin and his return to a fragile government are not insignificant. He is ambitious. Even if he was able to declare in December 2023 that Edouard Philippe was “best placed” to beat Marine Le Pen in 2027 – he also specified “as I speak to you” –he has certainly not buried his presidential desires; nor Bruno Retailleau probably, which could transform this shock tandem. The new Minister of Justice also launched his movement, called Populaires!, in September in his stronghold, in Tourcoing (North).
In order to remain credible, and in the light, and provided that the minority government is not censored, the minister will have to implement his measures. It will only be able to achieve this if its budget is aligned with the proposals put forward. However, France is experiencing significant financial difficulties, with a public GDP deficit above 6% in 2024. The ministries must tighten their belts and the 2025 budget has not yet been able to be voted on because of the motion to censorship having overthrown the Barnier government on December 4.
But Gérald Darmanin is very combative. This Thursday again in Marseille, he recalled that the justice budget represented only 2% of the state budget before calling for 1,600 additional civil servants in 2025, emphasizing the lack of resources was detrimental to the firmness of justice, and send a message to the Prime Minister. “I intend to defend the same decisions, and even a little better than my predecessors, for the next budget. Justice needs this money, consistency in its action.”
