Raphaël Kempf is a criminal defense attorney in Paris and author of Ennemis d’état and Violences Judiciaires.
Criminal defense lawyer Raphaël Kempf has repeatedly been counsel for defendants in French terrorism trials. He writes for Jacobin about how anti-terrorism cases from France to Israel have undermined the bases of due process.
The movement against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform saw shocking scenes of police violence against protesters. Yet far from standing up to abuses, the justice system is turning a blind eye to the government’s attacks on civil liberties.
Emmanuel Macron’s administration has used the pandemic as a pretext to create police powers extending far beyond any rational response to COVID-19. It’s the latest in a long line of French governments using moments of national crisis to shred basic civil liberties.