Dimitri Vernet 13:03pm, March 20, 2023

To denounce the passage in force of the pension reform bill, the French were thousands to take to the streets. Objective? Make their voices heard. In Dijon, parliamentary offices were tagged and puppets with the effigy of members of the government, including Emmanuel Macron, burned. But what are the risks for the perpetrators?

"The street will not retreat", "For retirement also requires consent"... The French were in the streets this weekend. The demonstrators held placards to protest against the adoption of the pension reform bill after the use of article 49.3. And in the processions, portraits and mannequins with the effigy of members of the government appeared.

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Thus, in Dijon, models representing Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Olivier Véran and Olivier Dussopt were set on fire Place de la République on Thursday. But what are the risks of demonstrators who threaten the President of the Republic, ministers, or public figures? Since 2013, the President of the Republic has enjoyed the same legal protection as persons holding public authority. We are talking about elected politicians, magistrates, customs officers or bus drivers.

Up to 6 months imprisonment

According to article 433 paragraph 5 of the Criminal Code, insulting a person holding public authority, "when committed in a group", can be punished by a fine of 7,500 euros and six months' imprisonment.

>> READ ALSO - Pension reform: will Emmanuel Macron talk to the French?

This is what the people who burned these models with the effigy of Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne or Olivier Dussopt risk. But the past has shown us that. Justice is rather lenient with individuals who commit these kinds of incidents. Only two people were convicted after hanging and then burning a mannequin bearing the effigy of the President of the Republic in 2018. The sentence? A citizenship internship for both men.