Death of Philippine: these hearings on the suspect and his background demanded by Wauquiez

Philippine's death has been the subject of political recovery since the precision of the profile of the suspect. The right even asked the opening of a flash mission to raise 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 from prison for rape, and subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF). Once the suspect's profile and background were specified, on Tuesday, September 24, part of the political class took up the case, particularly the right.

“This crime is abominable and we 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 X. A 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 some are also calling for special procedures to be initiated. 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 […] that led to this atrocious tragedy” in a letter addressed to the president of the National Assembly's law commission, Florent Boudié. Philippine's murder is “another tragedy [which] once again illustrates the profound dysfunctions of our judicial and administrative system and raises serious questions,” describes 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 regularly at the age of 17, was sentenced in 2021 to a seven-year prison sentence for rape, but his conviction was not accompanied by an OQTF since he was a minor at the time. However, an OQTF was issued in early July 2024, about ten days after his release from prison, and the suspect was transferred in an administrative detention center (CRA) while waiting to receive a “consular pass” which is essential to return him to Morocco. It was then that “administrative errors” reported by Le Parisien and the non-cooperation of the Moroccan authorities delayed 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 liberty 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 of the findings will be made. 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 weekly. These recurring procedures are often initiated to respond to current events. majors.