This is a first for a sitting Minister of Justice.
Eric Dupond-Moretti was indicted this Friday, by the judges of the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) who had summoned him.
the CJR is the only court empowered to prosecute and try members of the government for offenses in the course of their duties.
At the end of this first appearance interview, the magistrates therefore considered that there were serious or concordant indications of illegal taking of interests against Eric Dupond-Moretti.
Namely that the Keeper of the Seals would therefore have taken advantage of his new authority to settle accounts with magistrates with whom he was in conflict, at the time of his former activities as a lawyer.
Read also Dupond-Moretti case: how did we get there?
What the person has always denied.
This Friday morning when arriving at the CJR, Eric Dupond-Moretti said he was "serene", and "particularly determined" to explain.
"The Minister of Justice is not above the law, but he is not below either," he declared.
The procedure was initiated after complaints from the three magistrates' unions and the Anticor association, denouncing situations of conflicts of interest in two cases.