It is a very rare mobilization.
“Historical”, even, in the words of Nelly Bertrand, judge of the application of sentences in Pontoise (Val-d'Oise).
After "the appeal of 3,000 magistrates and a hundred clerks", published in Le Monde on November 23, it is in the streets and in the courts that legal professionals will denounce their conditions on Wednesday. of work and the lack of means with which they are confronted.
What are their demands?
The forum, published in Le Monde, was triggered by the suicide of a 29-year-old magistrate, after two years of "particularly trying duties", during which she faced "difficult working conditions" and "injunctions to always go faster and to make numbers ”.
This story is "not an isolated case", unions and clerks have decided to "sound the alarm".
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Their demand is therefore, today, clear: "material and human resources worthy of our mission, which consists in rendering justice", summarizes Nelly Bertrand, judge of the application of sentences in Pontoise. They want "an increase in the number of clerks, magistrates and officials", knowing that in France, the quantity "per inhabitant is well below the European median". According to figures from the latest report from the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice, released in 2020, France has 10.9 judges per 100,000 inhabitants, against a median of 17.7 and an average of 21.4 to l. European scale. Prosecutors are 3 per 100,000 inhabitants in France, while the average in Europe is 12.13 and the median at 11.25.
"We made the same observation on the lack of means of justice, it's been years that we sound the alarm bell", abounds Claire Dujardin, president of the Union of lawyers of France (SAF) and lawyer in Toulouse.
What is planned?
"The national slogan, for those who can is to go to Bercy", in front of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance - symbolic, faced with a lack of resources - explains Nelly Bertrand, who adds that gatherings are also planned across France.
Lawyers are also invited to go to Bercy or before the courts of appeal and the judicial tribunals of France, as are “judicial personnel, bailiffs, interpreters”, explains master Claire Dujardin.
In short, "all those who work together in the service of justice".
General mobilization for Justice!
To demand adequate human and material resources, for a decent budget, for quality justice.
#JusticeMalade pic.twitter.com/wGRRLgI4T7
- The SAF (@syndicatavocats) December 15, 2021
The day is also marked by a declaration of strike on the part of the magistrates.
Hearings of all cases scheduled for Wednesday, except emergencies, will be postponed to another date.
"A press release will be read to explain the situation" and press conferences will be held in various cities, lists the judge responsible for the enforcement of sentences in Pontoise.
The lawyers "will also request the dismissal - some have already done so yesterday - or will support the requests of the magistrates in this direction", adds the president of the Syndicate of lawyers of France.
How is this unique?
The movement is unprecedented in its scale, first of all, especially in a profession where the duty of reserve often takes precedence over demands.
“The platform was signed by 5,500 to 6,000 magistrates out of the 9,090 in France,” recalls Nelly Bertrand.
However, "the expression of the unions is very rare, there is a culture of silence strong enough", specifies the judge of the application of sentences.
And if the call for a strike by the Syndicat de la magistrature is not so surprising, that of the Union Syndicale des Magistrats is quite simply unprecedented.
General mobilization for Justice on December 15!
Our joint press release, signed by 17 professional and trade union organizations of lawyers, registry officials, magistrates: https://t.co/G2DiUJS3ob pic.twitter.com/ETDzgLrZMu
- SMagistrature (@SMagistrature) December 7, 2021
Where the movement is also historic, it is through the support that the magistrates have received.
"There was a motion voted on at the Court of Cassation, the Superior Council of the Magistrature left its reserve by receiving us and publishing an open letter", details Nelly Bertrand.
"All professional organizations agree with the diagnosis of magistrates, it is very rare", comments for her part Claire Dujardin, president of the Syndicate of lawyers of France and lawyer in Toulouse.
In all, nearly twenty organizations and unions representing magistrates, lawyers, but also legal services, call for mobilization.
What is the government's response?
As of Monday, the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, tried to defuse the situation during a press conference during which he defended the results of the five-year term of Emmanuel Macron, with a lot of figures and graphics .
The Minister of Justice explained that the number of magistrates had increased by 8.85% between 2017 and 2021 and that the justice budget had gained 9% over the past two years, also justifying that this branch had long been "abandoned, humanely, financially and politically ”, knowing that“ a few years are enough to destroy where it takes double, or even triple to rebuild ”.
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If he admitted that the appeal had to "be heard", Eric Dupond-Moretti also explained that the anger in the field of justice was more linked to feelings than to facts ... or even to an "instrumentalization in a pre-electoral context ”.
"I repaired the emergency," he said on France Inter on Wednesday morning, claiming to have "listened and heard" the suffering of magistrates, lawyers and clerks.
Not enough to calm their anger.