France/Assaults on elected officials: the government wants to strengthen criminal sanctions

Following a meeting with the resigning mayor of Saint-Brévin (Loire-Atlantique) on Wednesday, the Minister of Territorial Collectivities promised a strengthening of criminal sanctions against those who attack elected officials.

After the stir caused by the attack on the resigned mayor of Saint-Brevin (Loire-Atlantique), the government promises to punish the attackers more severely. Following a meeting with Yannick Morez, the president of the Association of French Mayors (AMF) David Lisnard and the Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, Wednesday at Matignon, the Minister of Territorial Collectivities, Dominique Faure, announced that she wanted to strengthen the penalties for attacks on elected officials.

Penalties for attackers will be aligned with those committed against uniformed personnel, such as firefighters, gendarmes or police officers. While the penalties provide for a maximum of three years' imprisonment and a fine of 75,000 euros, the government would like to increase this to a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine of 100,000 euros.

"We must obviously stop this downward spiral of violence against elected officials in our Republic. It is absolutely unacceptable," said Dominique Faure, at the end of the meeting, along with Yannick Morez, the resigning mayor of Saint-Brévin.

Yannick Morez accuses the prefect of "lying

The mayor confirmed " the end of his political career ", at the end of a day during which he was heard by a commission of senators. The opportunity for him to return to the reasons for his resignation, announced May 10! He has been subjected to " articles on social networks ", " insults ", " threats ", " vile leaflets ".

Until an attempted attack in the night of 21 to 22 March in his house. Threatened by a far-right group, the mayor had launched a project to build a reception center for asylum seekers (Cada), supported by the state. In front of the parliamentarians, he reassured them that he " lacked the support of the State. To the statements of the prefect of Pays de la Loire, Fabrice Rigoulet-Roze, who testified to the "support of the State", Yannick Morez retorted by accusing the senior official of " brazenly lying to the public ".

According to the AMF, 1,500 local elected officials were victims of violence because of their function in 2022.

Source: www.lejdd.fr/