A lawyer recalling the rights of protesters at a gathering of “Yellow Vests” in Nancy Saturday was arrested for “incitement to rebellion”.
A lawyer, François Vallas, was arrested by police in Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) on Saturday, January 12, 2019 during a demonstration of ” Yellow Vests “, said the prosecutor’s office Sunday.
He was placed in custody Saturday for ” incitement to rebellion ” at a rally held in the calm of nearly a hundred “yellow vests” in front of the train station.
The custody of the lawyer, registered at the bar of Epinal, was raised Saturday at 19h “on instruction of the prosecutor of Nancy,” said François Pérain, the public prosecutor. The procedure has been transmitted to the public prosecutor, who will take a decision on the follow-up to be given to the facts after having read it in its entirety.
According to the prosecutor, the lawyer invited the demonstrators to break the security cordon set up by the CRS deployed for this act 9 of mobilisation of “yellow vests”.
In front of the police during his hearing, he challenged “to have urged the demonstrators to break the security”. He admitted “having spoken to some participants and some members of the police” and acknowledges “having distributed business cards on this occasion,” says the prosecutor.
He reads the Penal Code to the protesters
According to a video posted on social networks, François Vallas read excerpts from the Penal Code to remind the protesters that they can gather freely.
The prosecutor’s office reminded him that the event had not been declared in the prefecture and had not been authorized.
For the public prosecutor, “an individual outside the rally shouted at the demonstrators that he was a lawyer and (they) urged them to break the security cordon”.
“He called to leave the premises claiming that the maneuver by the police, ultimately to intimidate the protesters not to travel on public roads, was illegal (…) It followed a crowd movement, some people undertaking in particular to step over the barriers set up and going to contact the police who repelled them without difficulty.”
Member of the party of Nicolas Dupont Aignan, support of confreres
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan , president of Debout France, was indignant at this arrest on Twitter, indicating that Maître Vallas, “adherent” of his party, “reminded Yellow Vests their rights”.
Arrestation scandaleuse de Maître Vallas, avocat et adhérent de @DLF_Officiel, au seul prétexte que, pacifiquement, il rappelait à des #GiletsJaunes leurs droits. #Nancy
N’hésitez pas à le soutenir : https://t.co/5qZeDkHtMC
— N. Dupont-Aignan (@dupontaignan) 12 January 2019
Other lawyers were indignant at the detention in custody of their colleague.
Un avocat harangue la cinquantaine de manifestants #GiletsJaunes, entourés par les CRS, dénonçant une privation de liberté : Il est placé en garde à vue pour provocation à la rébellion. https://t.co/PaigzIwCFH
— Fabrice Epelboin (@epelboin) 13 January 2019
#ActeIX #Nancy un avocat interpellé et placé en Garde à vue pour avoir voulu lire le code pénal en pleine rue à un groupe de #GiletsJaunes nassés depuis une heure et demi. https://t.co/Yo6LjAGRAy
— cedric mas (@CedricMas) 13 January 2019
Soutien à mon ami et notre confrère François Vallas, avocat au Barreau d’Epinal, placé illégalement en garde à vue durant 4h pour les faits d’incitation à la rébellion, alors qu’il rappelait les droits des manifestants. https://t.co/mqDEXujHXp
— Julien MARTIN (@JMartinAvocat) 13 January 2019
