France’s justice minister says 2,700 people have been detained and 217 jailed since cost-of-living protests turned violent on Oct. 17. This report skips troop deployments and the immigration row to focus on the scale and disputes of the judicial response.
Taiwan’s Liberty Times, citing CNA and AFP on Oct. 23, reported that Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said outside Fleury-Mérogis prison near Paris on Oct. 22 that fast-track trials had put 217 people behind bars. He called the judiciary’s response ‘extremely firm’. Euronews carried the same figure and quoted him as saying the last custody cases had just ended, immediate trials continue this week, and the number could rise.
광고 문의 · 300×250According to Euronews and the police-focused outlet Police et Réalités, 2,700 people have been held in custody since Oct. 17. More than a third, about 1,000, were referred to prosecutors. The previous Tuesday’s tally was over 800 referred and 149 jailed, so the number jailed rose sharply in three days.
Who is behind bars
Per the Liberty Times, Darmanin said half of those jailed have no criminal record and are generally men aged 18 to 25. Police et Réalités likewise said most were not known to the justice system. The minister said prosecutors and judges are jailing first-time offenders and rulings are being enforced firmly. The number of minors and a city-by-city breakdown were not confirmed.
In a circular to prosecutors the same day, he reportedly asked them to appeal rulings seen as contrary to existing criminal policy and to seek supplementary protest bans, breach of which carries one year in prison and a €15,000 fine. For those who attacked police or gendarmes or looted shops, prosecutors are to mostly seek loss of civic rights; he said they should not vote in coming elections. He also urged more frequent social media bans.
Criticism and prison overcrowding
The Liberty Times said some lawyers accuse the minister of steering the justice system toward repression. Police et Réalités noted that the government figures were not independently verified and that judges will still weigh each case with regard to the presumption of innocence and defense rights. No specific statement from bar associations or court unions appeared in the reports we checked.
Capacity is the other problem. Citing Justice Ministry data, the Liberty Times said France held 90,020 inmates as of Sept. 1 against a capacity of 63,348, a record. Darmanin said the answer is to add prison places, not to reduce the number of people jailed.
What comes next is a variable. Euronews reports a nationwide mobilization on Saturday, Oct. 24, with the prime minister’s office announcing a ‘massive’ security plan of about 80,000 police and gendarmes. The minister also said invoking organized-crime provisions could extend some custody from 48 to 72 hours. How the judicial response will affect new protests has not been confirmed.
