The Perpignan judicial court has decided to postpone the examination of the legal case which targets Alain Ferrand, the DVD mayor of Barcarès (Pyrénées-Orientales).
He is being prosecuted in the public procurement case linked to the organization of the gigantic Christmas market which attracts more than a million and a half visitors each year in front of the sandy liner the “Lydia”.
The case was postponed for the first time to 2023. This time, the defense, organized by Me Jean-Robert Phung and Me Henri de Beauregard, raised a serious procedural concern.
Parts of the file – all contained on a USB key which was visibly lost on a siding – were not submitted in time by investigators.
“Parts were not communicated to us”
“We have been asking for these documents for two months which have not been communicated to us.
How do you expect us to defend ourselves if we don't know precisely what we're being accused of?
And yet, we are impatient to prove our innocence at the hearing by dismantling the arguments of the investigation piece by piece", says indignant Me Jean Robert Phung, the defender of the most faithful defendant of the judicial court of Perpignan who demanded and obtained this new report.
Alain Ferrand, the mayor of Barcarès, was summoned with three nightclub managers and a municipal employee for embezzlement by a depositary of public authority and illegal taking of interests.
In other words, the three incriminated traders would have benefited from the largesse of the town hall for the occupation of the public domain during the 2018 Christmas village.
Read alsoThe Les Déferlantes festival is anchored at Barcarès, “the main festive place in the entire Mediterranean”
“We can only note these administrative difficulties.
This leads to a very long waiting period for the judgment since the case will finally be judged on June 19, 2025, i.e. fifteen months late.
We cannot contest the defense's request since it is legitimate,” said Didier Melmoux, of the Anticor 66 association which has been fighting against Alain Ferrand for years.
The mayor did not wish to speak on the steps of the courthouse.
This hearing postponement benefits him since this judicial hearing brings him closer to the next municipal deadline of spring 2026. Given the waiting times at the Montpellier Court of Appeal, this case has little chance of being completed before the next election campaign.
Another procedure awaits Alain Ferrand before the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Marseille for having subject the campsites in his municipality to compulsory fees.
The hearing has not yet been scheduled.