The trial of “Barjols”, this ultra-right group, opened on Monday. 13 people are on trial for criminal association with terrorism.
“It’s a luxury hearing, spending an afternoon per detainee”, notes the president of the 16th chamber of the Paris criminal court. In front of him, 12 defendants, in the box to his left, only another is judged to be detained. The trial of “Barjols”, this ultra-right group from Facebook, opened on Tuesday.
The charges are “serious”, recalls the representative of the anti-terrorist prosecution. They are suspected of having planned violent actions against elected officials, migrants, mosques or wealthy people, and for four of them for having wanted to assassinate Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
On the three benches in the courtroom occupied by these defendants, it is a mixture of graying hair, worn sneakers and faces marked by life. Certainly the youngest is 26 years old, but most are in their fifties. The oldest is 66 years old. The only detainee is a former homeless man. Their attitude, uncomfortable in front of the court when they were asked to state their identity, contrasts with the facts for which they are judged.
“True financial difficulties”
For three weeks, they appear before this chamber “unique in France”, as noted by the president of the court, which judges terrorist offenses. However, on this first day, they talk to their judges about their financial difficulties in being able to attend this hearing for a long time. All come from the provinces, from Isère, Moselle or Brittany. They hope to be able to be excused for the hearing days which they do not attend.
“There is a real financial difficulty in attending a three-week hearing, everyone at this hearing can understand that it is complicated”, pleads Me Romain Ruiz, the lawyer for one of the defendants living in Périgueux. and whose daughter requires day hospitalization.
Pink sweater, gray hair pulled up in a bun, the second woman tried in this trial claims to have already had to resign because of her involvement in this case. “I am employed by individuals, if I do not go to them, I have no salary”, pleads this woman who does housework, from Moselle. “A hearing is anticipated,” retorts the president of the court. “I already don’t like Paris, I’m lost, I’m anxious. I hate Paris. The prices were mind-blowing, I took a screenshot”, she still tries to convince.
“We get along but we are not a hairdressing salon”, annoys the magistrate.
“It’s my job or a case that’s been going on for 4 years, well, I choose my job, that’s all”, says this petite woman who speaks of this case as a “sword of Damocles”.
“I take the risk of losing my cat”
Black hair combed back and full beard, for this other defendant, it is the state of health of his cat which prevents him from attending all the hearings. He has already made the choice to attend only the day of the hearing devoted to his interrogation. Health record presented to the judge, the animal “isolated in Brittany”, suffers from diabetes. “We are talking about a cat”, asks the president, surprised that this subject is being broached in this trial. “It’s a special breed cat, your honor, hammers this big guy. I take the risk of losing my cat every time I come here.”
“Between the insulin shots and your trial, we organize ourselves, we get ready, there is a legal issue for you and for the other defendants which is fundamental. You do your best but you must imperatively be there on January 26 for your hearing”, states the president of the court.
His understanding is much greater with regard to the youngest of the defendants, suffering from a mental disorder. Trembling, almost fainting at the bar, the 26-year-old young man, supported by his lawyer, said he “vaguely” understood what he was accused of. “Blow, blow”, intimates the president who believes that “the elements of fragility concerning him” allow him to be absent during the hearings.
“No politics, only law”
The trial of the “Barjols”, a small group from a Facebook group in 2017, follower of paramilitary meetings and the conspiracy theory of the “great replacement”, is scheduled to last until February 3. “These are fundamental pieces of life, it takes effort, great effort, he continues. It’s a luxury audience, spending an afternoon per inmate.”
At the start of the hearing, the latter also gave a long pedagogical lesson to the attention of the defendants, nine of whom have “never had to deal with justice”. The magistrate recalled that his court did “no religion, no politics, no morality, only law”, in order to erase “the fantasy of political justice which would be under orders”.
“I can assure you 200% of the independence that is ours, he insisted. Prejudices do not take place in this courtroom, political thought is not an offense in itself.”
