Over 700 given jail terms over June protests in France: Minister
French Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti says more than 700 people have been given jail terms in connection with the protests of the month of June in the country, hailing the fast-track trials that have alerted some defense lawyers.
Speaking with RTL radio on Wednesday, Eric Dupond-Moretti said 1,278 verdicts were given in total and that the majority of defendants, over 95 percent of them, were convicted on various charges from vandalism to attacking police officers.
Of more than 700 people sentenced to prison, 600 are already behind bars, he added.
"It was extremely important to have a response that was firm and systematic," the justice minister said. "It was essential that we reestablish national order."
The most intense urban violence in France since 2005 began on June 27, after a police officer shot dead Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old French-Algerian boy, during a traffic stop in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.
His killing renewed old grievances regarding police brutality and racial profiling, setting off mass protests in cities across France. After four nights of fierce fighting, the protests were put down mainly to the deployment of around 45,000 security officers, including elite police special forces and armored vehicles.
Dupond-Moretti used fast-track trials and strong sentences as deterrence against further protests, with some courts remaining open during the weekend to deal with a backlog of cases.
Many suspects were swiftly tried, prompting some defense lawyers to raise concerns about the fairness of the judicial process and the heavy use of custodial sentences.
The average age of the more than 3,700 people arrested was only 17. The minors have reportedly been tried in separate children's courts.
Earlier this month, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) called on Paris to pass legislation defining and banning racial profiling and challenged the country's "excessive use of force by law enforcement."
The latest unrest across France has generated a major crisis for President Emmanuel Macron, who had been hoping to press on with pledges he has made for his second term after seeing off months of violent protests that erupted in January over his decision to raise the retirement age.
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