First coronavirus convictions drop

While the courts have been operating in slow motion since the start of the confinement ordered by Emmanuel Macron, the first legal cases linked to the coronavirus are starting to emerge. Several files concern for example protective masks, now requisitioned by the government. Wednesday, March 25, a man was indicted in Paris after the discovery of more than 23,000 masks in a van. A record seizure which erases the previous one: last week, 20,000 masks were discovered in a travel agency. Its manager will appear on April 21 before the criminal court.

Read also: LIVE - Coronavirus: "the first 15 days of April will be even more difficult than the 15 days" passed, says Philippe

In Nice, a pharmacist is suspected of having sold masks and of having sold hydroalcoholic gel made from gel for ultrasound. Placed under judicial control which notably prohibits her from exercising her profession, she will be tried on April 27. Two other pharmacists, one working in Cannes, the other in Grasse, will be tried on May 25 for having sold masks, not bearing the CE mark guaranteeing their effectiveness, through ... d 'a snack.

Read also: Coronavirus: but who liquidated the stock of masks?

From prison to breach of confinement

Other cases relate to non-compliance with confinement, which has been in effect since March 17. Offenders incur a 135 euro fine and the penalties increase in the event of recidivism: 1500 euros for a recidivism within fifteen days, 3700 euros fine and a maximum of six months in prison if four violations within thirty days are found .

Read also: Coronavirus and confinement: France of emptiness and silence

Several people have already paid the price. Tuesday, March 24, the criminal court of Saint-Etienne thus sentenced a 35-year-old man to four months in prison. In one week, the man who had hitherto been on parole was fined eight times. The same court sentenced a 19-year-old young man to four months suspended prison sentence for similar acts. He, too, unfavorably known to the justice system, had been fined ten times in a week.

Tensions in prisons

Several convictions have also been pronounced against people who rebelled during police checks. On Tuesday, March 24, a 24-year-old woman was sentenced to 7 months in prison for insulting and scratching the police, then spitting in their faces, according to Le Parisien. Wednesday, March 25, in Eure, a 29-year-old man was sentenced to five months in prison, reports France Bleu Normandie. Caught in the act of non-compliance with the rules of confinement, he had insulted and threatened the gendarmes who verbalized him. Thursday, March 26, in Nantes, a 36-year-old homeless man was given a two-month suspended prison sentence. During an inspection, he spat on a policeman, declaring: "It's the coronavirus!" , according to Ouest France.

The justice system must also manage the criminal response to the tensions that have arisen in certain prisons after the announcement of new measures linked to the coronavirus, in particular the abolition of visiting rooms. Monday, March 23, in Béziers, a detainee was given three months suspended prison, three others six months in prison and the last one year in prison.