William Molinié 06:00, March 21, 2023

After several power cuts and damage to parliamentary offices by strikers against the pension reform, the Ministry of Justice calls on prosecutors to provide a "rapid" judicial response. The Chancellery also wants "significant sanctions" against those responsible.

The Chancellery wants to be intractable against strikers in the energy sector who threaten or carry out their project to cut off the offices of elected officials in favour of the pension reform. In a note dated the end of January sent by the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons (DACG) to all prosecutors, the Ministry of Justice wants representatives of the Public Prosecutor's Office to apply a "specific judicial treatment".

"Acts of violence or damage to property or services (...) are a negation of our democratic pact," the Office of General Criminal Policy wrote.

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The Chancellery asks prosecutors to apply article 433-3 paragraph 6 of the penal code, providing for up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros, justifying that these power cuts targeting MPs identified as favorable to the reform "aim to exert pressure on the vote of our representatives".

Power outages

Territorial intelligence reported in a note consulted by Europe 1 that the home of Bertrand Sorre, Renaissance deputy of La Manche, had been cut off on Monday in gas and electricity.

Last week, Bruno Retailleau, the president of the group The Republicans in the Senate "filed a complaint against X" after being the victim of a power cut in his Vendée stronghold. Last January, the permanence of the Renaissance deputy of the Lot, Huguette Tiegna, located in Figeac, was deprived of electricity during a day of mobilization.

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At the beginning of March, the Ile-de-France branch of the CGT mines-énergie claimed the "switching" of the Yvelin permanence of Gérard Larcher, the president of the Senate, in "energy sobriety". In addition, several thousand residents neighbouring the Minister of Labour Olivier Dussopt in Annonay in the Ardèche were deprived of electricity on 7 March.

"Rapid judicial response"

In addition, the deterioration of the permanence of parliamentarians has multiplied. A dozen have been identified in the last 48 hours. The Nice office of Eric Ciotti, the boss of the Republicans, was vandalized in the night from Saturday to Sunday. The member filed a complaint.

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For ordinary crimes, such as damage, deterioration or destruction of parliamentary offices, the Chancellery recommends retaining the aggravating circumstance that the facts were committed "with a view to influencing" the behaviour of the elected representative "in the exercise of his functions or mission". "These facts, when they deviate from the framework of democratic expression and especially when they aim to prevent an elected official from freely exercising his mandate, call for a rapid judicial response and a meaningful sanction," concludes the DACG.