France: the Minister of Justice wants to establish a system of reduction of sentences on merit

The French Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti, during a press conference in Paris, March 1, 2021. AFP - BERTRAND GUAY

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The French Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti unveiled the main lines of his justice reform bill in the columns of the magazine Le Point posted online on March 2, paving the way to remove the automatic reductions in sentences ... replacing them with a system based on merit and good behavior on the part of the prisoner.

The associations denounce a populist announcement.

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Currently in France, a system allows each convicted person entering prison an automatic reduction of his sentence: 3 months after one year, 2 months per additional year.

A device supposed to fight against prison overcrowding by significantly reducing the average sentence.

But for the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, the French would no longer accept these automatic reductions.

As part of his bill

for " 

confidence in the judicial institution

 ", he proposes instead that a reduction in the sentence be granted to reward a reintegration effort.

For example: work, training, care or even good behavior towards supervisors.

In addition to this mechanism, additional reductions in sentences, already existing, could continue, which further reduce the length of stay in detention if the prisoner obtains an examination or compensates his victims.

For the moment, the maximum reduction that could thus be obtained has not yet been indicated.

For their part, associations for the rights of detainees are already denouncing a populist announcement based on " 

untruths

 ".

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To read also:

Conflicts of interest: a judicial investigation will be opened against Eric Dupond-Moretti

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  • France

  • Justice

  • Eric Dupond-Moretti

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