“radicalization” in the suburbs is often “linked to integration defects”, believes former prosecutor François Molins

François Molins, former prosecutor, published a book a few days ago, The name of the French people (Flammarion). A wonderful account of his life as a magistrate. “I believe in the justice of my country. I mention several cases in this book which show that as long as justice has the means to work well, it can work very well”specifies François Molins, former prosecutor, guest on “4 Vérités” on France 2, Tuesday February 27.

70,000 procedures forgotten in Seine-Saint-Denis in 2004

In his book, François Molins discusses terrorism cases at length. “Khaled Kelkal is the harbinger of radicalization in the suburbs, often linked to failures of integration”, believes François Molins. Did we waste time in those years? “We perhaps didn’t see it coming enough. In hindsight it’s easy to say what I’m saying today. Mohammed Merah opened our eyes to many things, to the scale of the phenomenon and to the way these jihadists should be treated when they committed these attacks”he elaborates.

François Molins also recounts his time as a prosecutor in Bobigny, in Seine-Saint-Denis. When he arrived there, in October 2004, he discovered that there had been 70,000 procedures forgotten, put aside. “This cannot no more be the justice of today than the justice of yesterday. These are things that are not admissible, but it was a reality that we lived with for several years with the president of the court at the time. This refers to both problems of resources and organization.he says.