Lyon (AFP)

Unpublished decision at the Criminal Court of Lyon: the single judge on Monday invoked "the state of necessity" and the "legitimate motive" to relax two "dropouts" of a portrait of Emmanuel Macron last February, prosecuted for theft meeting .

"This is a first and a very very good signal for us," said a spokesman for the non-violent action movement COP21 to AFP, who hailed this "historic decision" that "violates climate objectives. France and the legitimacy of civil disobedience actions in the face of the climate emergency ".

The prosecutor's office announced Monday night that it has appealed the decision.

On 2 September, the latter had demanded a fine of 500 euros against the two activists, a man and a woman aged 32 and 33, who had won the portrait of the President of the Republic in the town hall of the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon. "Theft is constituted and it does not solve the climatic disturbance", then estimated the prosecutor Rozenn Huon.

In his ruling on Monday, the judge acknowledged that the theft of "the object of a highly symbolic value" was well materialized. But, according to him, the reality of climate change "seriously affects the future of humanity", which legitimizes "other forms of participation" of citizens, "within the framework of a duty of critical vigilance".

For him, the intrusion of twenty activists in the borough mayor has disturbed the public order in a "very moderate". The magistrate felt that the action of the militants finally constituted a legitimate arrest of the President of the Republic.

"The stall and the unauthorized removal of this portrait for a purpose dedicated exclusively to the defense of this cause ... must be interpreted as the necessary substitute for impracticable dialogue between the President of the Republic and the people", he still indicated.

"This is the recognition of several years of activism," greeted the young woman very relaxed, leaving the courtroom.

The former Minister of Housing Cécile Duflot had defended during the hearing in early September "a citizen act in the best sense of the word" and a scientist from the CNRS had exposed "the indisputable climate emergency."

- Moral duty -

"This decision must sound the cessation of judicial harassment that (the Minister of Justice) Nicole Belloubet and his prosecutors have been suffering for several months environmental activists," said the leader of France insubordinated in a statement.

"The judgment of today is a point of marked for the defense of the general human interest but also in the battle against the authoritarian drift of the power", raised Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

EELV spokesman Julien Bayou also rejoiced on Twitter for an "extremely strong symbolic victory". "The court has recognized both the inadequacy of public policies and the legitimacy of portrait stall actions in a failed democracy."

The first trial of "dropouts" was held late May in Bourg-en-Bresse. An environmental activist was sentenced to a stiff fine of 250 euros and five others to a suspended fine.

Two weeks later, the Strasbourg Criminal Court had released three activists who had briefly landed a portrait of the head of state in a town hall in Bas-Rhin.

Last week, eight environmental activists tried in Paris defended this civil disobedience action to denounce "climate inaction" at the top of the state, invoking a "moral duty".

"We hope that the judgments of the next trials will also perceive the historic turning point that we are experiencing and recognize that this type of action is necessary to launch the alert," said Cécile Marchand, spokeswoman for ANV. COP21, one of the activists pursued in Paris.

Two trials are scheduled in Mulhouse and Nancy on October 9, according to ANV-COP21.

© 2019 AFP