2023-07-12 18:50:09
Will the Nupes parliamentarians be sanctioned for having taken part in the rally organized this Saturday, July 8 in memory of Adama Traoré? The question has arisen since the presidents of the Renaissance, Horizons and MoDem groups sent a letter to Yaël Braun-Pivet on this Tuesday.
The presidents of groups of the presidential majority rely in their request on article 70 paragraph 2 of the regulations of the National Assembly. This provides that any member of the National Assembly “may be subject to disciplinary penalties” if he “engages in demonstrations disturbing order” or if he “causes a tumultuous scene”.
“Not the right body”
From a disciplinary point of view, the deputies risked the sanctions specified in article 71 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly. Namely a simple call to order, a call to order with entry in the minutes, a simple censure or a censure with temporary exclusion. But in a missive addressed to the deputies asking for sanctions, the president of the lower house replied that “the office is not the appropriate body to sanction the facts which have occurred”. The reason: the rules of the Assembly only apply inside the enclosure.
“Article 70 of the regulations does not concern facts taking place outside the institution. Despite wearing his tricolor scarf, the deputy becomes a simple citizen again when he leaves the Palais-Bourbon, ”says Jean de Saint Sernin, doctor of law in public and teacher at the University of Lille. “The deputies were not within the framework of their function when they participated in the demonstration. They voted no law and did not control the action of the government. They are therefore governed by common law,” he adds.
Fine of up to 750 euros
If the left-wing deputies who participated in the march for Adama Traoré will escape disciplinary sanctions, can they be prosecuted? “These behaviors appear to be fully within the jurisdiction of the judiciary,” said Yaël Braun-Pivet in her letter. During the session of questions to the government, the Keeper of the Seals Éric Dupond-Moretti had, him, underlined this Tuesday, that “participating in a prohibited demonstration is an offense”. He had also suggested to the RN who questioned him on the subject to make a report.
A law of March 2019, passed by the government during the Yellow Vests movement, indicates that: “the fact of participating in a demonstration on the public highway prohibited on the basis of the provisions of article L. 211-4 of the code of internal security is punished with the fine provided for fourth class offences”. “If they are prosecuted, the elected officials concerned can in theory be sanctioned with a fine of up to 750 euros,” says Claire Dujardin, criminal lawyer. For the time being, these facts will not be debated in court but at the office of the National Assembly at its next meeting on July 19.
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