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Yellow vests: "symbolic" penalties for the sacking of the Arc de Triomphe

2021-03-25T23:40:22.808Z


Eight people, far from being the main culprits, were sentenced Thursday to suspended prison or community service


Covered in tags, looted, the Arc de Triomphe did not come out unscathed from a demonstration of yellow vests in 2018. This Thursday, eight people were sentenced to light sentences: suspended prison sentence or work. general interest in their modest role in this highly publicized rampage.

All were found guilty of breaking into the historic monument, stormed by protesters during Act 3 of their movement.

Those primarily responsible for the "apocalyptic scenes" described by the court during the hearing have never been identified.

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Rather than a fine, "symbolically" and "in relation to what happened", "the service of general interest seemed good to us", summarized the president Sonia Lumbroso to the defendants lined up standing in front of her.

One million euros in damage

At the start of the hearing on Monday, she had shown the photos and described at length the damage to the Arc de Triomphe on December 1, 2018, the interior "completely ransacked" and looted.

The damage was estimated at one million euros.

Those who committed degradations received suspended prison sentences.

The heaviest amounts to an eight-month suspended sentence for the young man, 18 at the time, filmed trying to smash a door with a fire extinguisher.

Those who have stolen postcards, Eiffel Towers or miniature Arc de Triomphe from the monument will have to pay a fine of 100 euros.

And all will have to do 70 hours of community service.

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During the three days of hearing, with patience and pedagogy, the president - a former judge for children - had tried to make the defendants understand that the Arc de Triomphe was "not just any local".

A “historic”, “symbolic”, “national” monument.

"Everywhere in the world we know that it is Paris", she had reminded these young people for the most part without history and originating from all over France.

The court "resisted the temptation to condemn simply because we do not hold the real responsible", rejoiced Me Sajjad Hasnaoui-Dufrenne, whose client was released for the partial destruction of a cast of "La Marseillaise ”.

Statue partly destroyed.

(Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP) CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT

A place to take refuge by "survival instinct"

The presence of his DNA did not establish "anything other than his presence" on the scene, said the president.

"The sanctions are adapted to the facts, we are no longer in excess" but "in reason", rejoiced Me Noémie Saidi-Cottier, whose client, without a criminal record, had been in pre-trial detention for two months for fire extinguisher shots.

At the hearing, several defendants had assured that they had no other choice than to "take refuge" in the Arc de Triomphe by "panic" or "survival instinct", while it was "hysteria" , “Total anarchy” outside.

The court was not convinced.

“There were other ways to escape the tear gas,” President Lumbroso told them.

Some admitted having entered and climbed to the top of the monument "out of curiosity", to "visit".

It was perhaps not the right moment, had conceded Tony E., 19 years old at the time and native of Orleans.

A former soldier linked to the ultra-right relaxed

The court released a former soldier linked to the ultra-right who was prosecuted for having tagged his nickname "Boar" on a pillar.

"I give you my word as a former legionary, it is not me," he said before the court retired to deliberate.

He then declaimed "article 1 of the Legionnaire's code of honor": "Legionnaire, you are a volunteer, serving France with honor and fidelity".

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Several yellow vests were on the benches of the public.

One of them, Stéphane Espic, had even become a civil party - a request refused - to "denounce the enormous masquerade" that he said was this trial resulting from a desire to "discredit" the movement of “Yellow vests”, and where we judge “poor kids” rather than the real “thugs”.

A "masquerade", also estimated Jérôme Rodrigues, figure of the movement and dazed during a demonstration, also present.

"378 police custody" announced after the sacking of the Arc de Triomphe to achieve "that", he mocked.

Source: leparis

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