Gérald Darmanin faces legal setbacks and criticism from judicial unions

The French Council of State has rejected an appeal by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin regarding a court order to improve detention conditions at the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison. The original ruling by the Caen Administrative Court required the ministry to end behaviors deemed contrary to law and ethics within the organized crime unit (QLCO). This follows reports from the International Observatory of Prisons and the General Controller of Places of Deprivation of Liberty (CGLPL) citing violence, humiliating searches, and disproportionate use of force.

In a separate development, unions representing magistrates and police commissioners have sent a letter to Gérald Darmanin criticizing his recent rhetoric. The Union Syndicale des Magistrats (USM) and the National Police Commissioners' Union (SCPN) accused the minister of using public agents as ‘scapegoats’ following the Lyhanna affair. The unions argued that systemic failures are the result of decades of underfunding and insufficient resources—such as obsolete IT tools and shortages of judicial officers—rather than professional negligence. They are calling for structural reforms, including the modernization of data interception and the simplification of investigative procedures.