Their agreement stops at the words. Éric Ciotti said he was “shocked” Monday morning, like the Minister of Justice, by the images of karting at Fresnes prison. But the deputy Les Républicains des Alpes-Maritimes denounces “a form of hypocrisy” in the speech of the Keeper of the Seals, Éric Dupond-Moretti.
“Either he knew or he didn’t. You can’t ask for an investigation if his cabinet was informed. The minister needs to provide more explanations, when you are a minister you are responsible. He expressed his emotion, a form of criticism, he is right. These images shocked many French people, many victims. Because behind the prison there is a sentence, a sanction, coming from the will of society to punish those who do not respect the law ”, denounced Éric Ciotti on the antenna of BFMTV this Monday.
The Keeper of the Seals, Éric Dupond-Moretti, announced the opening of an administrative “investigation” after the “shocking images”, in his words, of detainees doing karting in the courtyard of the Fresnes prison (Val-de -Marl). The scene took place in July 2022, as part of a prevention activity, arousing incomprehension from part of the prison administration and scandalized reactions from politicians on the right and the far right.
“Of course there is a fault”
Was the ministry, if not the minister himself, aware of this initiative? According to an internal source at the prison, contacted on Sunday by Le Parisien, the services of the Ministry of Justice were well informed of this activity “before, during and after”. “They have been associated with the project from the start, insists the same source. Perhaps the information was then not brought up to the minister’s ears…”
“All this is not serious, is shocking. These images are not admissible. Of course there is a fault, this event with the person who organized this demonstration, which was the subject of a call to the law, all that is not responsible. This kind of show, reality TV in a prison yard has nothing to do with the essential work of reintegration, ”said Éric Ciotti.
According to him, the latter passes through “work”. “The prison administration is the poor relation of the Ministry of Justice”, lamented the parliamentarian who suggested the creation of a delegated ministry or a secretariat of state for prisons. “We are sorely lacking in prison places,” lamented Éric Ciotti, criticizing a flaw in the executive. He has indeed identified the construction of a “little less than 2,000 prison places” during Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term, when the latter had promised 15,000.