The anger, after the decision of the Court of Cassation in the Sarah Halimi case, remains strong.
This Sunday, demonstrations of support for the family of the Jewish sexagenarian, killed in 2017 and whose killer will not be tried because he was declared criminally irresponsible, took place in several cities of France, including Paris, Nice, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Marseille.
In the capital, many artistic, political and religious personalities had gone to the Place du Trocadéro, alongside thousands of demonstrators - more than 20,000, according to the prefecture - to demand "justice for Sarah Halimi".
Sarah Halimi Street
Among the political figures of all stripes who have succeeded one another at the platform installed in the middle of the crowd, the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, welcomed a gathering "beyond political cleavages To "do justice" to the "memory" of the victim.
This event was also an opportunity for Anne Hidalgo to announce that a street in Paris would bear the name of Sarah Halimi.
"This is a project on which we are going to work with his family, it will be a way of doing him justice," said the PS mayor of the capital.
Patrick Bruel is one of the personalities who gave a speech, Place du Trocadéro, during the demonstration in support of Sarah Halimi's family. AFP / Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT
Many other personalities have spoken about the drama. In front of the media, the imam of Drancy, Hassen Chalghoumi, explained that "Jews, Muslims, Christians" were "united to demand justice for Sarah Halimi". In the same idea, the philosopher Raphaël Enthoven asked that this affair be "decommunautarized", since "it is the business of the whole Republic" and not only of the Jewish community. MEP Meyer Habib, who got involved very early on by submitting questions to the government on the judicial decision, also welcomed the fact that "for the first time, the national community" was mobilized on the subject, but regretted that this mobilization takes place "after the judgment".
The victim's brother, William Attal, considered this case to be "a miscarriage of justice, an absolute injustice".
“I don't want it to become a Dreyfus affair,” he even added.
Sarah Halimi's son said he was “moved” by the rally, hoping that this would allow “justice to be done in France”.
The irresponsibility evoked
As for the artists, Gad Elmaleh, Arthur, Patrick Bruel or even François Berléand attended the event.
The actor also had strong words in front of the cameras of BFMTV: “I came as a French citizen, who was proud to be, until this decision of the Court of Cassation.
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The issue of criminal irresponsibility, at the heart of this case, has been raised on numerous occasions. The president of Debout la France, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, notably ruled that “the article [on criminal irresponsibility] had been distorted by the magistrates”. Anne Hidalgo - as Emmanuel Macron had already done before her - considered that "a new law" was needed. The Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, also announced this Sunday that a bill would be presented "at the end of May in the Council of Ministers".
In accordance with the request of the President of the Republic, the government will present at the end of May in the Council of Ministers a bill to fill the legal vacuum which appeared in the Sarah Halimi affair.
This tragic story that has marked us all will advance our law.
pic.twitter.com/SqF2O28utj
- Eric Dupond-Moretti (@E_DupondM) April 25, 2021
At the same time, the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) protested against justice in the Sarah Halimi case.
"The judicial institution must be able to continue to judge, free from pressure, with complete independence and impartiality," said the institution in a press release.