Cannabis while driving, endangering the lives of others. 8 months driving license suspension and a fine for the driver of Carole Grandjean

2023-06-02 13:00:00

JUSTICE – The driver of Carole Grandjean, Minister Delegate for Education and Vocational Training, was finally tried, in early May, by criminal order, and sentenced to eight months driving license suspension and 800 euros fine. He will also have to complete a citizenship course.

This civilian driver, not belonging to the police, had been seen on Sunday March 5, 2023, while that he was driving, at excessive speed, among the runners of the Paris half-marathon, on a route strictly forbidden to traffic.

The reckless driver, duly arrested for endangering the lives of others, then explained that he was going to pick up the minister at her home to take her to the station and that he was in a hurry. However, he had not been able to present a requisition order.

Although tested positive for cannabis, he had not been taken into custody, which did not fail to outrage some police officers who believed that he had benefited from a preferential treatment. Three weeks after the accident caused by Pierre Palmade, the instructions were “zero tolerance” for motorists driving under the influence of narcotics and officials had argued that “If it had been a person, it would have been expensive!”.

At the end of the investigation, the offense of endangering the life of others was retained. The penalty incurred is one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. Driving under the influence of narcotics exposed the driver to a fine of 4,500 euros and a prison sentence of up to two years.

However, the procedure proposed by the prosecutor and accepted by the judge, the penal order rather than the criminal court, assured the driver of a reduced penalty.

In fact, this simplified procedure, without trial, reserved for offenses deemed to be of low gravity and for individuals who are not in a state of recidivism, does not allow a conviction to a prison term and limits the amount of the fine to 5000 euros maximum for an offence.

The convicted person has 45 days to appeal against his sentence.