The prefect of Pas-de-Calais was condemned for having freed himself from judicial authority during the dismantling of a migrant camp in Calais in 2020, a decision which calls into question the legal framework of many expulsions according to the complainants .
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The prefecture, which has fifteen days to contest this judgment of the Douai Court of Appeal (North), did not wish to react to the decision.
In its judgment of March 24, of which AFP obtained a copy, the court condemns the prefect for "
assault
", accusing him of having taken the initiative of the eviction, and temporarily deprived of liberty the occupants of the site. , without an adequate legal framework.
The applicants, eleven exiles and eight associations for the defense of migrants - including Secours Catholique and the Auberge des Migrants - had summoned the prefect in December 2020. They asked that the
evacuation
carried out on September 29, 2020 on the so-called Virval area, where more than 800 candidates for the passage to Great Britain were camped.
Disruption of the eviction procedure
This decision undermines the recurrent use by the State to carry out evictions from migratory camps on the northern coast of the legal framework of "
flagrancy
" - applicable when an offense has been observed for less than 48 hours -, according to the plaintiffs' lawyer, Me Eve Thieffry.
“
The judge confirms what the associations have been saying for years: that the prefect has no personal power to evacuate people on the coast and to move them under duress
,” she commented.
This “
prohibits the process used by the prefecture
”.
The prefect assured that he acted on the decision of the prosecutor, the day after the opening of an investigation in "
flagrance
on the presence of 450 tents.
The court considers on the contrary that he acted on his own initiative, relying on a tweet from the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin who said his "
support for Prefecture 62
" for the operation.
Evacuation organized but not authorized
The prefectural press release then published also indicated that the tents had been installed for "
several weeks
", while the importance of the means implemented - including 30 buses - confirmed an upstream organization.
“
These elements contradict the hypothesis of the discovery of the offense the day before
” the evacuation, underlines the Court.
However, "
the Pas-de-Calais prefecture did not require any authorization from the administrative judge in order to proceed with the evacuation
as required for an operation outside the scope of flagrance.
In addition, the prefecture exceeded its prerogatives by temporarily depriving the freedom of migrants escorted to buses, under pressure from the police, ruled the court.
The presence of many police officers surrounding the exiles during this evacuation, the largest of this type since 2016, was "
likely to constitute a constraint
", noted the court.
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The applicants requested 5,000 euros in damages for each of the exiles and 1,000 euros per association.
Unless appealed by the prefecture, a hearing must decide on May 23 of these damages.
At first instance on January 6, 2021, the Boulogne-sur-Mer court declared itself incompetent, the prefecture having requested referral to the administrative court.
“
The testimonies produced do not allow us to conclude that coercion was used during the sheltering phase
”, had in particular judged the court.
