Overview
- The Digne-les-Bains prosecutor, Antoine Pesme, has filed an appeal of the court’s decision in the case of a driver who rammed two motorcycle gendarmes near Forcalquier.
- Judges sentenced the 37-year-old to five years in prison with four years suspended and one year under an electronic bracelet, which meant no immediate time behind bars.
- Prosecutors had asked for seven years in prison, while the court cited the driver’s suicidal intent and impaired judgment in choosing a lesser custodial outcome.
- The case stems from a roadside stop that escalated when the driver refused to halt for a seatbelt check, reversed over one police motorcycle, then struck a second gendarme, injuring both officers and a passerby.
- Local leaders condemned the ruling as too soft, the mayor of Forcalquier vowed to press the Justice Ministry, and the prosecutor cautioned that such reactions ignore judicial independence as the case moves to the Aix-en-Provence appeals court.