Will his opinion be taken into account by the government? The Defender of Rights recommended Wednesday the abolition of the fixed fine (AFD), an alternative mode of criminal sanction to prosecution for a hundred small offenses, a device supposed to lighten the procedures but criticized.

Established in 2016, the AFD is a fine drawn up in flagrante delicto by a police officer or gendarme on a mobile device and which is worth conviction and entry in the criminal record, as for any offense. The lump sum fine procedure, originally reserved for contraventions, was extended to traffic offences in 2016, before affecting others: in particular the use of drugs, the illegal occupation of public or private land, or the occupation of building lobbies.

'Risk of arbitrariness'

In her opinion, consulted by AFP, the Defender of Rights notes "many difficulties in the implementation of the AFD procedure that compromise the respect of users' rights." Starting with "the risk of arbitrariness and disparities of treatment contrary to the principle of equality before the courts" while the choice of whether or not to resort to this sanction is based solely on the assessment of the agent.

"This transfer of powers leads to the sidelining of the prosecutor and the judge and gives considerable power to enforcement officers. The strengthening of this power also includes a risk of increasing discriminatory practices, "says the independent institution responsible in particular for defending users against the administration. The Defender of Rights advocates the outright abolition of the AFD.

"Unfounded" arguments

But this opinion - not binding for the administration - is also accompanied, if necessary, by several ways of improving the system: clarify the employment framework with agents, improve the information given to the person fined, increase the control of the prosecutor's office and simplify the procedures of contestation.

The interior and justice ministries said in a joint statement Wednesday that the Defender's arguments were "unfounded." Thus, the low rate of recourse against AFD in terms of narcotics (2.1%) proves, according to Beauvau and the Chancellery, "the acceptance of the device by the defendants." The two ministries also deny any risk of discriminatory practices on the part of the security forces, recalling that they act under the direction of the public prosecutor and obey the "local instructions" issued by each prosecutor's office.

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