“This is the first time I have seen such a list circulating,” reacted the Paris Bar Association President, who said he was “deeply shocked.”

Pierre Hoffmann announces that he has contacted the Paris public prosecutor.

The Paris Bar Association, Pierre Hoffmann, said: “deeply shocked” Thursday July 4 on franceinfo, after the publication of a list of lawyers “to be eliminated” on the far-right website Reseau-libre.org. 98 names, nicknamed “the factious”are registered in this article named “(very partial) list of lawyers to eliminate”The author of the article calls for “send into a ditch or into a stadium these lawyers (who) already declare that they will not respect the verdict of the ballot boxes in the event of an RN victory.”

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti condemned on X (formerly Twitter)) “with the greatest firmness the publication”The Minister of Justice considers that “Those who want to kill our freedoms always start by attacking lawyers. I will never let them do it.”he promises. The day after the publication of this list, Pierre Hoffmann, president of the Paris bar, also expressed on franceinfo his incomprehension and anger at this type of hateful publication.

franceinfo: It is a fairly confidential site that publishes these threats, but does it nevertheless seem imperative to you to react?

Pierre Hoffmann: I am deeply shocked that in 2024 a “list of lawyers to be eliminated” could circulate and know that I immediately contacted the Paris public prosecutor to denounce these extremely serious facts.

What strikes you about these threats?

Attacking lawyers, attacking journalists, those who defend our fundamental freedoms is an intolerable attack on our democracy. As the President of the Paris Bar, this is the first time I have seen such a list circulating. My duty as the President of the Paris Bar is to defend, protect and support all lawyers.

Does this reflect a concern in your profession, perhaps more broadly?

The concern is somewhat general. All French people feel it. But what I can tell you is that, precisely, touching the legal professions, touching journalists is perhaps a slightly higher cursor, something we had not seen before in our democracy.

You are talking about more general concerns. Does the current climate seem to you to be threatening to public freedoms in general?

We are in an election context. There is extreme tension in the country, we feel it, and here, it is the citizen who speaks to you. Indeed, there is a tension that is at its peak.

Do you think that this goes beyond the electoral period, the questioning of institutions, intermediary bodies or professions such as the world of justice?

You know, it’s been a graduated response for several years. But what we’re feeling now is a climate that is truly deleterious. Attacking journalists, attacking intermediary bodies, the Constitutional Council, the European Court of Human Rights, the decisions that have been made… These are things that were not in the public domain some time ago. And it’s up to us, as watchdogs of freedoms, to be careful.