Rachida Dati loses two more
Rachida Dati’s popularity at the Ministry of Justice does not appear to be improving. Yesterday two more of her senior advisors left her, one resigned the other was “fired in particularly stormy conditions” according to Le Point. That brings the total since Mme Dati took office in May to seven. Her spokespeople say this is normal, the logical result of her having new cabinet director (the previous one was the first to resign). It’s odd, however, that Mme Dati’s ministry is the only one affected by this totally normal rash of resignations. Last week, according to rue 89, her entire cabinet contemplated a collective resignation – only staying on “from fear of being seen as the wicked aristocrats of the civil service fighting the pleasant and worthy [because of her background] young woman”. Indeed one has to be careful of what one says when discussing this iconic member of Sarkozy’s government: press criticism of Rachida Dati expressed when her original cabinet director plus two colleagues resigned was itself attacked by various anti-racist organisations. On the other hand the French magistrature does have a reputation for arrogance, probably linked to their status in the much-vaunted separation of powers.
The threat of collective resignation was brought to a head by an incident last week. A vice-prosecutor in the trial of a recidivist drug dealer was reported (possibly wrongly) as summing up “I will not demand the minimum sentence of four years [referring to Dati’s very recent law on minimum sentences for recidivists], because magistrates are not the instruments of power. Just because a law is passed does not mean that it has to be applied without discernment.” Normally, apparently, this sort of statement in open court would result in the vice-prosecutor being asked to explain himself before his local disciplinary committee – in this case the man was called to the Ministry to answer questions. He did not see the Minister herself, but at the end of his hearing the phrase “The report [procès-verbal] will be sent to the Minister, who will advise what is to follow” was added to the transcript. The magistrates’ unions and the vice-prosecutor’s immediate superior immediately leapt angrily to defend their colleague while, still according to rue 89, the discontent within Dati’s ministry continues to rise.
For information, the recidivist whom the vice-prosecutor did not wish to sentence to four years emprisonment was given eight months - with his original sentence added in makes 32 months.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:31 am
It is quite understandable that Mrs Dati is nervous. In a sense, it’s not her fault, but the fault of the omnipresent leader of her government. President Sarkozy seems to have decided to revise the law each time there is a news item which attracts the attention of the media. A mad man kills three nurses in a psychiatric hospital in Pau ? Mr Sarkozy decides, without consulting the magistrates, that there will be a new law, according to which it is not necessary to be responsible of one’s acts to be condemned by a court. (In, passing we should note that dogs who kill children are cases at point: hence they should be sent to a tribunal, as did the ancient Greeks, who did not have our conception of penal responsbility). A pedophile kidnaps a child ? Mr Sarkozy decides a specific law for pedophiles. These moves seem, once again, motivated by the desire to be compassionate with victims, which is the main spring upon which the media rely when they announce each new case. The law, which by definition is general, becomes very particular, at the service of what pays in the media. My advice to the judges who complain about the intrusions of the political power is : present yourself as victims, it pays.