His name is in bold and underlined, at the bottom of the list of candidates for the post of prosecutor of Créteil (Val-de-Marne). Stéphane Hardouin is the candidate who was proposed by Eric Dupond-Moretti to replace Laure Beccuau, appointed this summer public prosecutor of Paris, Franceinfo learned from judicial sources, Monday, November 15. This document on the plans for the appointment of prosecutors by the Minister of Justice was sent at the beginning of the month to all the officials of the ministry and to the Judicial Council (CSM).
This particular candidacy makes cringe in the judiciary. This 50-year-old magistrate, appointed with Jean Castex in July 2020, is responsible for managing the cases handled by Eric Dupond-Moretti when the latter was a lawyer. To temporize the anger of the red dresses accusing the former criminal lawyer of a conflict of interest, the Prime Minister had signed a decree allowing the management of certain affairs to be deported from Place Vendôme to Matignon. Stephane Hardouin was thus understood by the Court of Justice of the Republic in the investigation into a possible illegal taking of interests of Eric Dupond-Moretti, like other personalities.
This indirect link between the Keeper of the Seals and his candidate is ticking internally. In addition, sAmong the 17 candidates for the post of prosecutor in Créteil, of equivalent rank, Stéphane Hardouin is the one with the least seniority.
Before joining the Chancellery in mid-2016 as Deputy Director of Specialized Criminal Justice, then as Deputy Secretary General – with a brief stint as Deputy Director of the Cabinet of Minister Nicole Belloubet between May and June 2017 –, Stéphane Hardouin was prosecutor of Compiègne (Oise) for two years. “Between Compiègne and Créteil, the march is high. Do we want to reward his good and loyal service to Matignon?” asks a magistrate.
“It always gives a very big competitive advantage to go through ministerial offices.”
A magistrateto franceinfo
Above all, Stéphane Hardouin has only been classified “outside the hierarchy” since August 17, 2020, the date on which he was appointed inspector general of justice, when other prosecutors or attorneys general candidates for the post have several years on the clock at this time. grade. As is the rule, he would therefore have had to wait three years before requesting a new assignment.
Solicited by franceinfo, he declined to comment. “He works for the Prime Minister and not for the Minister of Justice”, hammers a source close to the case, lambasting “this questioning of the probity of people who work for the government machine”.
Will the Supreme Judicial Council (CSM) ignore this twist and give a favorable opinion? According to our information, he should vote on this candidacy at the end of November or the beginning of December. If Emmanuel Macron is not bound by this opinion, he has undertaken, as has been customary since 2012 and the Hollande presidency, that the president will not go against the opinion of the CSM for the appointments of prosecutors.
The fact remains that the institution rarely decides against a candidate proposed by the executive. The CSM, made up of elected magistrates, but also of external personalities chosen by the President of the Republic, “is not very daring in the matter”, mocks a judicial source. The more so as an unfavorable opinion would result in the vacancy of the post, the time that the Minister of the Seals proposes another candidate. What would be a “snub and a hell of a boxon”, summarizes the same source.
In the entourage of Eric Dupond-Moretti, we retort that Stéphane Hardouin “is perfectly legitimate to be offered on this post”. “He has held positions of responsibility, with a very large number of people to supervise, but on secondment, which mechanically caused him to lose seniority in the rank compared to those who remained in the corps. “
Katia Dubreuil, president of the Syndicat de la magistrature, sees “the illustration of a necessary institutional reform” to guarantee the independence of public prosecutors, repeatedly rejected and demanded for a long time by the unions and the CSM itself. It would consist of an alignment of the mode of appointment of the magistrates of the public prosecutor’s office on that of the magistrates of the seat, namely a proposal of the candidates by the Council of the magistrature and not by the power in place. This question should be brought back to the table when of the Estates General of Justice, which began in mid-October. But requiring a constitutional revision, it will not be carried by the current mandate.