Philippine’s death has been the subject of political exploitation since the suspect’s profile was clarified. The right has even called for a flash mission to be opened to highlight the “judicial dysfunctions” that allowed the tragedy to take place.
Philippine’s murder is a case that goes beyond a simple news item. The discovery of the 19-year-old student buried in the Bois de Boulogne on Saturday, September 21 caused a great deal of emotion in France, to the point of becoming a political issue after the suspect was arrested four days later. The individual is a 22-year-old man from Morocco, already sentenced to prison for rape, and subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). Once the suspect’s profile and background were clarified, on Tuesday, September 24, part of the political class took up the case, particularly the right.
“This crime is abominable and one can only be revolted by this stolen life. […] Faced with such a tragedy, preceded by many others, we cannot be satisfied with deploring or being indignant,” wrote Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau in a press release published on XA message in which he calls for “developing our legal arsenal to protect the French. […] If the rules need to be changed, let’s change them.” The tone is set.
But it is not only the government that is reacting to Philippine’s murder, in the National Assembly too some are calling for the initiation of special procedures. Laurent Wauquiez, president of the group of deputies of the Republican Right, has thus requested the opening of a flash mission “to shed full light on the dysfunctions […] which led to this atrocious tragedy” in a letter addressed to the president of the law commission of the National Assembly, Florent Boudié. The murder of Philippine is “yet another tragedy [qui] “This once again illustrates the profound dysfunctions of our judicial and administrative system and raises questions with serious consequences,” writes the deputy of Haute-Loire in the letter consulted by BFMTV.
By “dysfunctions”, Laurent Wauquiez means the OQTF that targeted the suspect and its non-application. The arrested man, who arrived in France legally at the age of 17, was sentenced in 2021 to a seven-year prison sentence for rape, but his sentence was not accompanied by an OQTF since he was a minor at the time. However, an OQTF was issued at the beginning of July 2024, about ten days after his release from prison, and the suspect was placed in an administrative detention center (CRA) while awaiting receipt of a “consular pass” essential to return him to Morocco. It was then that “administrative errors” reported by The Parisian and the non-cooperation of the Moroccan authorities delay the issuance of the pass beyond the time limit for detention in a CRA. An exceptional extension was requested, but rejected by a judge of liberties and detention. The suspect, released in early September, was arrested a few weeks later for the murder of Philippine, as part of the investigation for voluntary homicide and rape.
If a flash mission is opened by one of the committees of the National Assembly, then hearings on the “dysfunctions” raised by Laurent Wauquiez will take place and a written report on the conclusions will be submitted. All committees are able to launch flash missions – the equivalent of information missions that are generally held over six months or more in a much shorter time frame. A flash mission can also be initiated by the Conference of Presidents, which meets every week. These recurring procedures are often initiated to respond to major current events.