Four lawyers pleading for a single defendant. This was the unusual scene that the judges sitting in immediate appearance hearings at the judicial tribunal of Marseille faced on Tuesday afternoon, May 19, 2026. Around lead attorney Marie-Dominique Poinso-Pourtal and her vice-lead attorney Jean-Michel Ollier, about twenty lawyers were present, wearing black robes adorned with a red collar as a form of protest.
A one-time “mass defense” movement, a sort of zealous strike aimed at continuing the mobilization against the bill on criminal justice and victim respect (known as “Sure”) proposed by Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, some of whose measures have sparked opposition among legal professionals.
A week-long strike starting in early April
In early April, the Marseille Bar Association was mobilized for a week-long strike, following other bar associations across the country against a project “presented as a response to the overcrowding of criminal courts”, which lawyers fear may “jeopardize the essential principles” of justice, to the detriment of victims in particular.
The “mass defense” operation, it is hoped from the authorities’ side, will help maintain pressure, while the Ministry of Justice is currently negotiating with the National Council of Bars on this bill.
