The Court of Cassation quashed the € 1,500 fine for aggravated contempt of Frédéric Vuillaume, a "
yellow vest
" who had shouted "
Castaner assassin!"
"During a visit by the former Minister of the Interior in 2019 to Besançon, we learned on Tuesday.
Read also: The successful landing of Castaner in the National Assembly
The Court of Cassation considered that the leader of the “
yellow vests
” of Besançon had been prosecuted on the basis of the wrong offense: Frédéric Vuillaume should not have been tried according to article 433-5 of the Penal Code but on the basis of the 1881 law on freedom of the press.
"
The contempt was not constituted because (the incriminated sentence) was not addressed directly to the minister
" who was not present when it was pronounced and learned it from the press, explained to the AFP his lawyer Me Jean-Michel Vernier.
The facts occurred in March 2019, during a visit by the then Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner, for the inauguration of a police station in the sensitive district of Planoise, in Besançon.
The FO trade union representative Frédéric Vuillaume, his wife and another of their comrades had launched “
Castaner assassin!
”Near the police station that the minister was to visit.
At first instance, Frédéric Vuillaume and his wife were sentenced to a suspended fine of 1,500 euros, a sentence confirmed on appeal.
Frédéric Vuillaume then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The third defendant had been fined 1000 euros and had not appealed.
The three defendants, on the other hand, had been released from the acts of rebellion.
At the hearing, before the criminal court of Besançon, the "
yellow vests
" had insisted on the "
political
"
dimension
of the apostrophe: they meant "
assassin of freedom or assassin of the right to demonstrate
", then explained Master. Vernier.
Christophe Castaner had not lodged a complaint and had not become a civil party.
Frédéric Vuillaume has been tried on several occasions for “
obstructing traffic
” and “
insulting a person holding public authority
”.
