The prosecution requested Thursday a year of suspended prison, a fine of 10,000 euros and 5 years of ineligibility against former LREM MP Laetitia Avia, tried for moral harassment on seven of her former parliamentary assistants between 2017 and 2020.
The trial of the former deputy of Paris and pillar of the majority, who vigorously denies any harassment, began on May 9 and 10 before being interrupted because of the busy schedule of the 31st correctional chamber of the court of Paris.
In her closing argument, the prosecutor considered that the elected representative had indeed "denigrated" and "humiliated" her collaborators, in particular by "jeers" and remarks aimed at sexual orientation or origins, that she had also created a "climate of fear" and demanded "abusive working hours" as well as undue tasks related to her personal life.
No "political conspiracy" for prosecutor
The representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office stressed the "excess" and "repetition" that emerge from the testimonies of the seven former collaborators, two of whom did not want to be civil parties. "They denounce the same words, the same facts," said the magistrate.
"The particular situation of the MP and his parliamentary assistant does not entitle the former to violate the fundamental labour rights of the latter. Even if we integrate this workload, this pressure (specific to the work of an MP), the fact remains that everyone remains in his place, "said the prosecutor.
She dismissed the theory of a "political conspiracy", according to which the Mediapart article that had unveiled the testimonies in 2020 had appeared while the MP was defending her law against online hate in the Assembly.
"Align words and actions"
For the prosecution, the complainants on the contrary denounced the facts "over the water", in a focus group without the MP and by seizing the ethics officer of the Assembly.
"Fighting online hate is good (the MP had brought a law against online hate), but being kind to your teams is also good. This is part of the attributes of the employer MP and his office and it makes it possible to put in coherence his words and his actions, "she stinged in conclusion.
The defense of Laetitia Avia is scheduled to plead Thursday evening.