Judges revolt over Sarkozy remarks on legal system

THE teenage waitress disappeared one night after her shift. After a police hunt that gripped France, her severed limbs and head were found in the waters of an abandoned quarry.

The suspect, aged 31 and recently out of prison, already had 15 convictions. But did French President Nicolas Sarkozy go too far by branding him a “monster”? Is the suspect “presumed guilty”, as Sarkozy said, and not presumed innocent before trial? And did judges and police deserve blame for failing to prevent the crime?

The French president’s incautious comments about the suspect, and his complaints of incompetence in the legal system, have sparked a revolt among judges, prosecutors and lawyers. Protesting magistrates have shut down almost all the country’s courthouses this week, with courts hearing only urgent cases.