• The aim is to quickly offer certain offenders an alternative sanction in the form of unpaid work in a sports association.

  • The football, basketball and rugby leagues support experimentation, as does the Pays-de-la-Loire region.

"I am convinced that it is a form of criminal response that will be effective", predicts Renaud Gaudeul, the public prosecutor of Nantes.

Faced with the lengthening of judgment times due to the lack of judicial resources in the face of the increase in acts of delinquency, the Nantes public prosecutor's office decided to experiment with the implementation of an alternative measure to trial and penalty that follows: "unpaid work" in sports associations.

This initiative, unique in France in this form, is currently supported by the Pays-de-la-Loire regional council, the regional football, rugby and basketball leagues, as well as the Olympic and sports committee.

"The idea is that, when we have acts of delinquency that could be described as moderately serious, rather than sending the person back to the criminal court with extremely long delays, we will rather, within a much longer shorter, ensure that these people are sanctioned by the obligation to perform unpaid work,” explains Renaud Gaudeul.

“Beneficial action for the common interest”

This device, which is similar to a sentence of community service (TIG) with a simplified procedure, will be offered to major offenders who have admitted their guilt.

It will mainly be aimed at first-time offenders who have "undermined the values ​​of the Republic and the basic rules of community life" (willful degradation, outrage, refusal to comply, theft, etc.).

The work to be carried out will be indicated by the partner sports authorities but will primarily concern the maintenance of equipment (lawn mowing, cleaning of changing rooms, etc.) and the promotion of sports activities.



“Unpaid work is a sanction that punishes the author, effectively and visibly, while promoting his reintegration.

It thus comes to remind him of the values ​​of work by carrying out a beneficial action for the common interest”, justifies the commitment agreement signed by the partners at the end of last week.

Sport, “recognized vector of reintegration”

The mission, which can start very quickly after its notification, will not exceed 30 hours for fines and 100 hours for offences.

It must be completed within a maximum of two months.

"For these alternatives to work, they must be credible, they must make sense and they must be carried out quickly," insists Renaud Gaudeul, who, when he was posted in Martinique, had already experimented with an unpaid work system within communities.

Why the sports world this time?

“Sport is a powerful lever for education, self-transcendence and integration into society.

As such, it is a recognized vector of reintegration for people who may have been confronted with delinquency”, specifies the commitment agreement.

In order to encourage clubs to host these famous unpaid works, the Pays-de-la-Loire regional council announces that it will allocate a “bonus” in the allocation of its aid.

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