France’s justice minister Gérald Darmanin on Wednesday withdrew a contentious “plea-bargain” provision for serious crimes from his criminal-justice reform after the bill was rejected in the National Assembly’s law committee. “It appears necessary to propose to the National Assembly the withdrawal of this measure, in the absence of consensus,” Darmanin told reporters outside the Palais Bourbon, confirming that the government would table an amended text for the full chamber debate later this month.
The surprise climb-down follows a 10 June vote in the committee on criminal justice that rejected the clause allowing defendants accused of felonies to negotiate reduced sentences in exchange for an admission of guilt. The measure had drawn criticism from both the left, which argued it would erode due process, and parts of the right, which feared it would weaken deterrence. “The text was dead on arrival,” said Socialist MP Christine Arrivé. “The minister’s move is a tacit admission that the reform cannot command a majority.”
Darmanin’s original bill aimed to streamline France’s overburdened courts by introducing plea bargaining for crimes carrying up to ten years’ imprisonment, a first in French criminal procedure. The government had argued the change would cut trial backlogs and reduce pre-trial detention, which currently holds 25 % of remand prisoners. But legal scholars warned the measure risked normalising coercive confessions and undermining the presumption of innocence.
The committee rejection came as Darmanin faced broader political headwinds. On Tuesday, the Constitutional Council struck down a separate clause in the same bill that would have allowed prosecutors to extend pre-charge detention from 48 to 96 hours in terrorism cases. The council ruled the extension violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
With the plea-bargain clause now shelved, Darmanin’s reform enters a critical phase. The government must decide whether to reintroduce a watered-down version or abandon the measure entirely before the full chamber vote scheduled for 24 June. Justice ministry officials said they would consult parliamentary groups over the coming days to salvage what remains of the reform.
Legal observers note that France’s criminal code has long lacked any form of negotiated justice, leaving prosecutors with only two stark options: full prosecution or dismissal. “The status quo is unsustainable,” said Paris-II Panthéon-Assas professor Antoine Garapon. “But the government’s zig-zag risks leaving the system in limbo.”