the text which proposes to toughen the sentences of attackers arrives at the Assembly

MPs are studying a bill on Tuesday to more severely punish perpetrators of violence against elected officials.

How can we better protect our local elected officials? The National Assembly is considering, Tuesday, February 6, a bill already passed in the Senate which lists a whole series of measures to come to the aid of these representatives of the French, regularly confronted with violence.

It is first of all a text toughening penalties for violence against elected officials. Parliamentarians want in particular to align them with those provided for in the event of violence against the police. They could therefore face up to seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 euros in the event of incapacity for work for more than eight days.

The text also provides for the creation of a community service penalty in the event of public insult or contempt towards elected officials. For these insults but also for public defamation, the bill provides for an extension of the limitation periods. They would go from three months to a year, whether the victim is elected or even a candidate for an elective mandate.

Protection measures for local elected officials

The text provides in particular for the automatic granting of functional protection to certain local elected officials who are victims of violence or threats who request it. Here too, on the model of that granted to the police. This means implementing measures such as changing the telephone number, medical care, legal assistance or even compensation for damages even before there is a court decision.

This measure concerns local elected officials holding an executive mandate, that is to say mainly mayors and their deputies, presidents of regional and departmental councils as well as their vice-presidents, but also candidates for local elections. These candidates will also be able to obtain reimbursement from the State for security costs incurred during their campaigns, regardless of the outcome of the election.

Closer relations with the prosecution, as demanded by certain mayors

Mayors will thus be able to be informed directly by the public prosecutor and the prefect of the legal consequences given to violence against elected officials. Finally, the public prosecutor will be able to obtain communication space, in the municipal newsletter of municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants.

The rapporteur of this text in the National Assembly and Renaissance du Nord MP, Violette Spillebout, tabled a second bill last week alongside the communist MP for Seine-Maritime, Sébastien Jumel. The two elected officials want to create a “shock of attractiveness” local mandates. In particular, they propose the allocation of“citizen commitment compensation” to all municipal councilors without executive functions.