This is the main surprise of this new government. The famous lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti was appointed Minister of Justice in the first team of Jean Castex. As soon as this announcement was made on the steps of the Elysée Monday evening, critics flared from all sides. On the magistrates 'unions side, the Magistrates' Union assimilating it to a "declaration of war", but also of a part of the political class.
The penalist, "big mouth" of the bar but new to politics, has already made it known that he was withdrawing from his various and numerous pending files. And said during his "takeover" on Tuesday not "make war with anyone". But several cases in which he has been involved or taken a stand in recent years risk being reminded of him during his tenure.
Very firm criticism of the PNF
A "barbouzarde investigation", "we have switched to the Republic of judges". Questioned by Le Parisien on June 26, Eric Dupond-Moretti had not mince his words about the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), whose magistrates are accused of having peeled the "fadettes" of different lawyers to find who could have informed Nicolas Sarkozy in the Bismuth-Sarkozy affair. "EDM", which was one of them, had even announced its intention to file a complaint for breach of professional secrecy, violation of its correspondence and invasion of privacy.
Problem: as Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti is now the hierarchical superior of the PNF. Hoping to avoid controversy, the Elysée Palace announced on Monday evening that the lawyer had withdrawn his complaint.
Eric Dupond-Moretti also defends several “famous” clients who have been sued by the PNF, such as Jérôme Cahuzac and Patrick Balkany. "He is downright in favor of the abolition of the PNF, when it is clearly one of the biggest advances that there has been in recent years", judge with the Parisian Elise Van Beneden, president of the association Anticor, fearing "A step back in the fight against corruption".
Stormy relationships with Le Pen and Mélenchon?
Known for not having his tongue in his pocket, Eric Dupond-Moretti took part in several political figures, especially on the far right, during his career. “Jean-Marie Le Pen took care of racists, she [Marine Le Pen] takes care of Muslims. The FN [former name of the National Rally, RN] is not a republican party, it must be prohibited. But it's complicated because after there is a reconstitution of a dissolved league, ”he said on France Inter in 2015.
What Marine Le Pen did not fail to recall, a few minutes after the announcement of the new government. “At Justice is appointed an activist from the far left who wants the ban on the RN, the first opposition party. It promises… ”wrote the president of the party co-founded by her father on Twitter.
Justice is appointed an activist from the far left who wants to ban the RN, the first opposition party. It promises ... #EricDupondMoretti #DupondMoretti https://t.co/G8QR1tnrXM
- Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) July 6, 2020At the other end of the political class, Jean-Luc Mélenchon had had trouble starting with the criminal during the trial for "rebellion" against several elected officials of rebellious France after the searches of party premises in late 2019. "I frankly think that he [Mélenchon] must go to sleep early, get a good little chamomile and calm down before his trial next week, "the lawyer who defended some of the police officers concerned.
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Between these two tenors accustomed to the stands, the contests in the National Assembly and by interposed media promise to be lively.
Opposed to pension reform
The pension reform, which will probably be adapted to the new economic and social context but which has not been abandoned, a future bone of contention between Eric Dupond-Moretti and the executive? On several occasions, the new Minister of Justice has stood up for his lawyer colleagues, standing up against this text which notably plans to integrate their pension plan into a universal system. “Our pension scheme is not a special scheme. It is an autonomous and surplus plan, which transfers a lot of money to other funds. I do not see why we are coming to touch this, ”said Dupond-Moretti in Le Monde on February 15.
VIDEO. The Chinese portrait of Eric Dupond-Moretti
Will he maintain his opposition? In this case, he would not be the Prime Minister to publicly state his desire to "protect" public servants or employees who depend on his department or who exercise the same profession. Christophe Castaner, then in charge of the Interior, had in particular assured the police that they would keep their special regime.
Theo case and police violence
One of Eric Dupond-Moretti's most publicized fights in recent years has been the defense of Théo, the young man seriously injured during an arrest at Aulnay-sous-Bois in February 2017. The lawyer line was to denounce police violence, which has reappeared in the foreground of the news in recent weeks with the demonstrations organized by the relatives of Adama Traoré, the young man who died in 2016. His interventions on this subject are therefore particularly expected.
Very skeptical about transparency
Transparency does not seem to be the priority for Eric Dupond-Moretti. “This case is the first work of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP), this sort of populist thing. They haven't been doing anything for months, they had to get something out, "the lawyer was angry in 2015 during the trial of former Minister Yamina Benguigui, accused of having concealed information in her asset and interest declarations.
For those who say they like "neither transparency nor authority", "the frantic desire for transparency" can lead to "dictatorship", as he said on BFMTV at the time of the Griveaux affair, in February 2020 .
The criminal lawyer has also repeatedly expressed his opposition to anonymity on the Internet. "We must ban all communication on social networks that are not signed. Anonymity releases a bunch of cowards who can say all the bullshit in the world, "he said. "Transparency is necessary in a world where we see that there are a lot of conflicts of interest", replies Elise Van Beneden.
Asylum for Julian Assange?
"Acquittator", as he is nicknamed because of the many clients he managed to get acquitted, joined last February the new defense team of the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange. He even announced the filing of an asylum application in France for the activist, currently detained in the United Kingdom.
It is not known whether the application was actually filed, but the French government has never said it is in favor of granting asylum to Julian Assange.
