Clash with gendarmes during the protest against mega-reservoirs in Sainte-Soline, France, on March 25, 2023. YOHAN BONNET/AFP
More than two and a half years after the events, the legal proceedings concerning injuries sustained during the March 2023 protest against mega-reservoirs in the town of Sainte-Soline (western France) remain at a standstill. This is despite the release of videos by Mediapart and Libération on November 5, which revealed gendarmes firing direct shots from grenade launchers.
Two days later, the prosecutor’s office in Rennes (northwest) announced that several MPs had notified it of possible offenses revealed by the footage. “A decision on public prosecution, for which no option is currently favored, will be made soon,” the statement said, citing “the complexity of this case.” Nearly a month later, the prosecutor’s office has yet to announce its decision.
This silence is incomprehensible to the Syndicat de la magistrature, France’s left-wing judges’ union. “It is quite astonishing to hear the prosecutor justify not opening a judicial investigation on the grounds of the case’s complexity and the ongoing inquiries. It is precisely when a case is complicated that appointing an investigating judge is strongly recommended,” said the union’s president, Judith Allenbach. She added, “This is symptomatic of a justice system that does not meet the expectations of plaintiffs or of society.”
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