The trial of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, scheduled for two days, opened Thursday, September 19 at the court of Bobigny in Seine-Saint-Denis in an electric atmosphere. The insubordinate France leader (LFI) is accused, along with five of his relatives, of rebellion and intimidation during the eventful search at the party's headquarters in October.

"To accuse an insubordinate of crime of rebellion, it is a form of pleonasm", launched at the bar Jean-Luc Mélenchon. To the president who asked him if he agreed to appear, the LFI leader replied, "I do not think I have a choice, but yes."

Jean-Luc Mélenchon is prosecuted for "acts of intimidation against a magistrate and a depositary of public authority, rebellion and provocation". He incurs up to 10 years in prison, a fine of 150,000 euros and 5 years of ineligibility. Also present are MPs Bastien Lachaud and Alexis Corbière, MEP Manuel Bompard, President of the People's Era Association, Bernard Pignerol, and LFI's press officer.

The LFI leader was the first to be interviewed. On October 16, 2018, "the day began in an atmosphere of confusion, of amazement", with the search of several militants Insoumis, justified Jean-Luc Mélenchon, when the president of the court Benoît Descoubes underlined that the materiality of what he is accused of was established.

"A political trial"

The MP said he experienced "a sense of humiliation": "These are my premises, I have never claimed to be above the law." He recalled being afraid that the file of the 500 000 registered on the platform LFI is seized. He then invoked "the moral responsibility vis-à-vis those who gave their name and address to support (his) presidential campaign". And he told himself again the victim of a "political trial": "I'm not talking about conspiracy, but about system effect."

In a face-to-face sometimes tense, sometimes comical, the leader of LFI was then under the fire of the questions of Me Eric Dupond-Moretti, one of the lawyers of the civil parties. "It's a classic technique, to cut small pieces by little questions ... Go straight to the point, be offensive!", Advised him Jean-Luc Mélenchon, triggering laughter in the room.

Visibly annoyed by the length of the responses of the leader of the Rogue, who has repeatedly explained that his reaction to the search was primarily that of a militant claiming his insubordination, Me Dupond-Moretti ironized: "Here we are in a compound judicial, not in court with placards! " A reference to the dozens of unsuspecting activists who had posted themselves in the morning in court to support the defendants.

"You do not have all the rights as a public person," added one of the two prosecutors. "Me, little prosecutor, how do you want me to justify your outrage?" Asked the Deputy Prosecutor Juliette Gest.

"My decibel level"

To one of the police officers who lodged a civil complaint, Jean-Luc Mélenchon said "deeply regretful of having disturbed you by my level of decibels, to the point of provoking seven days of ITT". For his part, MP Alexis Corbière said he "indisputably" assumed to have raised his voice against a police officer during the search. "This way of raising the tone can be soothing," he said.

The hearing ended shortly before 23:00 with the word given to the civil parties. "I am struck by this event," said one of the police officers who tried to control two LFI militants while another criticized Jean-Luc Mélenchon for saying "wrongly" to "be an activist of the extreme right ".

The morning audience was devoted to viewing images shot by the press during the search of October 16 that had turned to confrontation. Some sequences have caused laughter in the crowded courtroom, especially when the leader of the insubordinate France declares in a sequence the famous: "The Republic, it's me!"

The search at the heart of the trial was conducted at the Paris headquarters of LFI in the context of two investigations of the Paris prosecutor's office: the accounts of the 2017 presidential campaign and the conditions of employment of assistants of MEPs LFI, entrusted since then to examining magistrates. Friday's day is devoted to pleadings which will begin at 9:30 am and will be followed by requisitions. The judgment will be reserved.

With AFP