"A political death penalty": Eric Ciotti has submitted his bill against provisional execution

He announced this the day after Marine Le Pen was sentenced to five years of ineligibility with provisional execution in the case of the National Front's parliamentary assistants. Eric Ciotti, along with members of the UDR group, submitted a bill to the National Assembly on Tuesday "aimed at protecting the effectiveness of the fundamental right to be elected." He deplores the fact that the mayors of the two largest cities in the Var region are being punished by the courts without the possibility of appeal or cassation.

Why did you table this bill?

I believe that provisional execution in matters of eligibility violates the right to vote, a fundamental principle reiterated by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is what the Constitutional Council stated in a recent decision. The application of provisional execution establishes a form of political death penalty.

Shouldn't convicted elected officials be ineligible?

What I am challenging is not the principle of ineligibility, but the fact that an elected official is deprived of his or her mandate without being able to appeal or file a cassation appeal. It is not a question of protecting elected officials who have been convicted, but simply that they should benefit from the same rights as all other citizens. It is not a question of establishing special privileges for elected officials, but of preventing a conviction from becoming akin to a political sanction, with extremely serious consequences.

Are you shocked by the conviction of Nathalie Bicais, the mayor of La Seyne-sur-Mer?

The two main municipalities in the Var region are seeing their chief magistrates, chosen by voters, punished without the possibility of appeal or appeal. The current downward spiral is clearly visible, particularly in the case of Marine Le Pen. Her conviction in a case that concerns administrative error and not personal enrichment could prevent her from running, even though she is projected to lead in all the polls. This is a major democratic scandal.

When will your bill be examined? It will be discussed in the Assembly on June 27 as part of the UDR group's parliamentary initiative day, which will also include a resolution in favor of repealing the 1968 agreements with Algeria, as well as several other bills on other subjects: limiting marriages involving people under OQTF (Foreign Quarantine and Temporary Accommodation), establishing minimum sentences for those who attack police officers, gendarmes, and firefighters, abolishing ZFEs, and reducing the exemption period for capital gains on real estate.

Does your proposal have a chance of being adopted?

I hope all democrats will rally behind this bill. Judging by the positions taken by a large number of political leaders, including the Prime Minister, before Marine Le Pen's conviction, this proposal should be unanimously supported. But I fear that political considerations will prevail...