Paris (AFP)

The Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti on Sunday justified his decision to open an administrative investigation against three magistrates of the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), strongly criticized by several unions, in the name of the necessary "responsibility" of the profession.

This investigation targets the former head of the PNF Eliane Houlette, now retired, and two of her subordinates after a report from the General Inspectorate of Justice (IGJ) which noted dysfunctions in an investigation into the "mole" of Nicolas Sarkozy in the "eavesdropping" affair.

The two main magistrates' unions castigated the Chancellery's decision, denouncing an "unprecedented attack" on the judicial institution.

Asked about France Info, Eric Dupond-Moretti insisted on Sunday on the gravity of the charges against the magistrates, "likely to be regarded as breaches of the duty of diligence, professional rigor and loyalty".

The PNF was implicated for having peeled the telephone records ("fadettes") of tenors of the bar - including Mr. Dupond-Moretti then a lawyer - to identify who could have informed the former president and his defender Thierry Herzog that they were wiretapped in a corruption case.

Before being appointed Minister, Mr. Dupond-Moretti had himself denounced "methods of barbouzes".

"Does that seem normal to you (…) from magistrates?" Asked the Minister of Justice on Sunday, "what would have been said if we had not asked to know more?"

Mr. Dupond-Moretti blasted Ms. Houlette, who refused to answer questions from the IGJ on the grounds that her investigation was illegal in her eyes.

"These are people who summon the French every day, who call them to account, who demand transparency, and who do not want to answer a certain number of questions when they are put to them, but we walk on their heads! ", strangled the Keeper of the Seals.

"I defend the judiciary when it is accused of laxity, I defend it when it is accused of not doing its job but I cannot defend it when it flees and when it does not assume its responsibility", he added.

Mr. Dupond-Moretti finally ruled out any "conflict of interest" in this file, recalling that the IGJ report had been commissioned by his predecessor Nicole Belloubet.

© 2020 AFP