Darmanin faces political pressure as reform bill stalls
Darmanin's popularity declines as his criminal justice reform faces political resistance.
Event / Politics
French Criminal Justice Reform Bill
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin's proposed criminal justice reform, introducing plea-bargaining procedures with sentence reductions, rejected in parliamentary committee with mounting political pressure surrounding the minister.
1 reported locations
Daily activity
0 articles0 articles
2026-08-16 to 2026-11-13 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 10 Jun, 11:36 UTC
Follow the documented timeline or explore the related reporting.
What happened
Criminal justice bill scheduled for full assembly debate at end of June
The criminal justice bill will be debated in the full National Assembly at the end of June in its Senate-approved version, unmodified by the committee. The committee's rejection indicates the government will face difficulty securing a majority.
Darmanin's criminal justice bill includes plea-bargaining mechanism for crimes
The rejected bill contains a plea-bargaining procedure for recognized crimes (PJCR) that would reduce sentences by one-third in exchange for confession. Court hearings would be condensed to half a day instead of two to three days. The measure applies only to murder and armed robbery after the government excluded rape and crimes prosecutable in asssize courts in May.
French National Assembly committee rejects criminal justice bill
The Legal Affairs Commission of the French National Assembly rejected Gérald Darmanin's criminal justice bill on June 10 by a vote of 18 to 16. The entire left-wing opposition voted against the bill, while the National Rally abstained.
French bar association opposes criminal justice reform on principle
The National Bar Council has firmly opposed the criminal justice bill, citing the principle of adversarial debate that must govern the determination of sentences.
Darmanin's popularity rating declines amid controversy
Gérald Darmanin's positive image rating among French citizens fell to 28 percent in an Elabe poll conducted on June 2-3, reflecting the impact of the Lyhanna controversy and the criminal justice bill rejection.
Darmanin faces mounting political pressure over Lyhanna case
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin faces growing calls for resignation following the Lyhanna controversy. Over 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Justice Ministry demanding his resignation, including actresses Anna Mouglalis and Andréa Bescond. Darmanin acknowledged considering resignation but stated it would destabilize the ministry.
Read the coverage
2 alternative perspectives
French committee blocks criminal justice reform, stalling plea-bargaining plan
French committee blocks plea-bargaining criminal justice bill; full debate scheduled for end of June.