The Senate voted on Thursday May 28 to guarantee the presence of a lawyer with each child placed or protected, a long-awaited reform but difficult to implement according to the Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, who obtained the postponement until January 2027 of its entry into force.
The bill from socialist MP Ayda Hadizadeh, adopted in December in the National Assembly, received unanimous support from the upper house.
While around 380,000 young people are affected by educational assistance measures – placed in foster families or homes, or followed directly with their families by decision of a judge – the vast majority of them are not assisted by a lawyer in this process, which is nevertheless decisive for their future life.
“At seven years old, some people already know what shame is. At eight years old, some already know what fear is and we continue to ask them to face legal proceedings alone,” said Renaissance senator Xavier Iacovelli, who brought the initiative to the Senate. “What adult here would agree to enter a courtroom alone when their whole life is at stake? » he protested again.
“There are not enough trained lawyers”
The transpartisan text therefore intends to remedy these situations by making the assistance of a lawyer compulsory for all these children, without conditions of discernment.
The initiative is supported by Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, but the latter alerted Parliament to the difficulties of implementing such a measure. “There are not enough trained lawyers to immediately ensure a systematic presence at each hearing,” he warned, fearing “postponed hearings” and children “left in a context of danger”. Another pitfall, according to him, is the cost of such a reform, estimated at 300 million euros per year over a full year, which will not be “neutral for the Ministry of Justice”.
Faced with these fears, a compromise was found in the Senate, at the initiative of the minister, to postpone the implementation of this reform until January 6, 2027. On the condition, however, that the deputies accept this deadline in turn, during a second reading of the text, scheduled for June 30 in the Assembly.
Very favorable in substance, the senators nevertheless questioned the real capacity of the government to keep its promise. “There will not be more lawyers in three months, in six months, in a year,” worried Senator Sophie Briante Guillemont, denouncing “technical unpreparedness”.
