Jacques Serais / Photo credit: BENOIT PEYRUCQ / AFP 21:28 p.m., November 14, 2023

The trial of Éric Dupond-Moretti resumed on Tuesday before the Court of Justice of the Republic. The current Minister of Justice is on trial on suspicion of illegal acquisition of interest. The last witnesses will take the stand before the closing arguments are expected on Wednesday. It was a historic trial in which he seemed to lose his footing.

For Éric Dupond-Moretti, it is a trial that is taking on the appearance of a nightmare. The former tenor of the bar and current Minister of Justice appears before the Court of Justice of the Republic on suspicion of illegal acquisition of interest. It was a historic trial, as never before had a sitting Minister of Justice been brought face to face by the judges.

On Tuesday, Éric Dupond-Moretti watched helplessly as Catherine Mathieu, the former deputy director of human resources for the judiciary, directly criticized the man for whom she worked. "When he was appointed, this issue of the risk of conflict of interest was so obvious that we didn't even think it should be mentioned," explains the magistrate, who is now president of the Meaux judicial court.

"You did everything you could to get me to resign"

For his part, the Minister of Justice seethes and makes his gravelly voice resonate throughout the courtroom. "Everything is incriminating," he says angrily. "I have not given you the floor," replied the President of the Court of Justice of the Republic firmly. And the ordeal continues with the testimony of the former director of judicial services at the Chancellery. "At the time, I wasn't going to tell the minister that he had to resign. It's unbelievable. There's a president or a prime minister for that," he said.

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Éric Dupond-Moretti no longer holds back and is annoyed: "You did everything to get me to resign," he thunders. The witness then appealed to the judge: "Is it possible to ask the minister to stop interrupting me?" The Minister of Justice is then called to order by one of his subordinates. And it's not over yet, as Attorney General Rémy Heitz will deliver his closing arguments on Wednesday.