Free and without charges: French justice, soft on those responsible for the riots in Paris, France after the victory of PSG
Without prison sentences, those responsible will pay a $570 fine and attend "citizenship courses." Six out of ten French say freedoms "have been weakened" under Macron.
Riot police officers detain a person during celebrations in Paris.
The first people accused in the riots in Paris, France following Paris Saint-Germain's victory in last weekend's UEFA Champions League final were released without charge, despite admitting that they had participated in the riots and assaulted law enforcement officers.
During what was meant to be a joyous and peaceful celebration, more than half a thousand people were arrested for attacking French police, vandalizing street furniture and looting businesses. In addition, the altercations left hundreds of injured and even two dead.
At their court appearance, the defendants - aged between 20 and 22 - acknowledged their guilt, but were not criminally punished. In exchange, they had to face a small financial fine - of no more than 500 euros (about $570) - and will have to attend "citizenship courses."
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, assured, after the riots, that justice would be "implacable" with those responsible. Something that, for now, has not happened.
"We will pursue, we will punish, we will be implacable," Macron said. "The magistrates, in whom I have full confidence and who apply the Penal Code in difficult conditions, must be able to judge these facts with a scale of penalties that is firm, simple and really adapted to today's crime."
Freedom has declined under Macron
The institutional decay and social crisis in Macron's France is also reflected in the perception of freedom. According to the majority of French people, the current administration has made France less free. This is attested to by six out of ten French people (57%), who, according to a survey conducted by the consulting firm CSA for the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, penalize the president in this regard.
"For 57% of respondents, freedoms have been weakened over the past eight years. Eight years, the length of a political cycle that began with the hope of democratic renewal and ended with a history of distrust," the poll revealed.
In contrast, a tiny segment of the French population (7%) said that "freedoms have been strengthened" since Macron came to the Elysée.
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