Contempt of agent

Verified 06 September 2024 - Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister), Ministry of Justice

Are you a police officer, bus driver, teacher and have you been subjected to words or actions that violate your dignity or the respect due to your duties? It may be contempt of an officer. If you are a victim of such a offense, you can drop complaint. If the contempt took place on the Internet, you can make a signaling even if you only witness it. We present you with the information you need to know.

Contempt of an agent is a malicious act (words, gestures, sending of an object, etc.) in connection with the mission of a public official and who undermines his dignity or the respect due to the office he performs.

Contempt of an agent manifests itself in several ways:

  • Insulting words, humiliating words, etc. For example, a person insults a teacher in a school
  • Body actions, facial expressions, or attitudes that clearly express the disdain or anger of the perpetrator for the person they are addressing (for example, following a police officer) SNCF: titleContent for several hours)
  • Verbal threats
  • Sending by letter or message (email, SMS: titleContent, etc.) of insulting, threatening, disgraceful writings or images, etc.
  • Sending any objects (example: sending food on the mayor of a commune).

In order for the offense of contempt to be successful, it is necessary that thethe following 3 conditions are completed:

  • The perpetrator must know the status of the person in contempt (official acting as a depositary of public authority or carrying out a public service mission)
  • The perpetrator must address directly to the public official or to have his or her comments reported to him or her (for example, on the street or on the wall of a social network)
  • The author of the facts must have consciousness that the act committed by him undermines the dignity of that official or the respect due to his office.

Warning  

Contempt of an officer should not be confused with other offenses infringements such as physical violence or insult. Physical abuse requires a blow to the public official. Insult does not require the victim to be directly addressed.

This infringement shall be constituted where the offense is committed against a public official or a public official with a public service mission.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Depositary agent of the public authority

A depositary agent of the public authority is a person who has the power to impose sanctions and compulsion and who may use them in the performance of the duties entrusted to him by the State.

Several bodies of public officials shall be considered as depositaries of public authority, in particular:

  • Municipal or national police officers
  • Street watchdogs
  • Gendarmes
  • Military
  • Judges
  • Customs Officers
  • Prison officials (example: prison guards)
  • Public Finance Inspectors
  • Labor inspectors
  • Professional firefighter, volunteer firefighter and firefighter-marine.

Agent with a public service mission

A public-service official is a person who performs, voluntarily or at the request of the public authorities, a service of general interest.

The staff performing a public service mission include:

  • Teachers
  • Hospital workers (medical and administrative staff of public hospitals)
  • Public transport officers (e.g. employees of public transport companies such as the SNCF: titleContent or the RATP: titleContent)
  • Local and regional authorities (e.g. city council employees, France services agents)
  • Clerks
  • Judicial agents.

Contempt of an officer may be committed in the places of daily life (e.g. on the street, in a police station, on a train, etc.) or on the internet.

In some cases, the victims and/or witnesses of such infringement can perform a signaling.

General case

No reporting mechanism is provided for when the contempt is committed in the places of daily life.

If you wish to denounce these facts, you must file complaint.

On the Internet
Reporting on PHAROS

Any person, victim or witness of an online insult to an agent (e.g. sending a threatening video to a teacher) may report to the police or gendarmerie since PHAROS: titleContent.

This platform is open to both adults and minors.

Report illegal internet content (internet-reporting: Pharos)

FYI  

PHAROS: titleContent does not deal with urgent cases. In case of emergency (example: infringement in progress), you can contact the police or gendarmerie on the 17th the Samu at 15 or the fire brigade at 18.

If the teams of PHAROS: titleContent consider that the content is unlawful, the report is forwarded to the competent authorities (e.g. investigation services of the National Police or the National Gendarmerie). An investigation may be conducted under the authority of the public prosecutor.

In addition, police and gendarmes can contact the host site or platform and ask them to remove the offending content.

Reporting to the host

If you are a victim of or witness to a contempt of an agent committed on the Internet, you can make a report to the host of the site or the online platform concerned.

Indeed, the hosts must put in place reporting mechanisms to alert them to the publication of illegal content on a website or online platform (e.g. social networks).

This device must be visible and accessible to all. It allows you to enter:

  • Your contact details (name, first name, email address, etc.)
  • The reasons why you find the content offensive
  • The precise location of the reported content (e.g. URL).

Following your report, the host sends you an acknowledgement of receipt. It must act within a very short time.

If he considers that the content is unlawful, he must immediately :

  • Notify competent authorities (e.g. public prosecutor)
  • Remove it from the Internet or block access.

Hosting providers who do not provide for such a device or who fail to comply with their obligations are subject to criminal penalties.

Please note

Some hosts have their own reporting mechanisms. This is the case for social networks such as X (formerly Twitter),Facebook,Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok,.

If you feel you have been the victim of a contempt, you can file a complaint against the perpetrator (or against X, if you do not know his identity).

You can also to bring you a civil party to obtain damages.

Your complaint must be filed within 6 years from the fact-finding commission.

To file a complaint, you can go to the police station or the gendarmerie of your choice. You can also write to the public prosecutor.

Please note

Contempt of an agent is an offense, so you can also file a direct quotation from the registry of the criminal hearing.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

On the spot

To file a complaint, you have to go to the police station or to the gendarmerie brigade of your choice.

Who shall I contact

Police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of infringement.

When you file a complaint, you are received and heard by a police officer or gendarme. At the end of this interview, you will receive a receipt and a copy of your complaint if you request it.

The filing of a complaint leads to a police investigation that may result in the conviction of the offender.

Please note

You can request assistance from a lawyer. This professional may be present from the lodging of a complaint until the possible judgment of the perpetrator of the facts by the correctional court.

Who shall I contact

By postal mail

You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.

To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.

Who shall I contact

Your mail should include the following:

  • Civil status information (your surnames, first names, etc.) and full contact details (address and telephone number)
  • Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
  • Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
  • Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
  • Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
  • Evidence documents (e.g. medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.)
  • Possible desire to constitute yourself civil party.

You can use the following mail template:

File a complaint with the public prosecutor

You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.

A receipt will be given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.

The filing of a complaint leads to an investigation that may result in the conviction of the offender.

If you constitute yourself civil party, you can get damages.

Please note

You can request assistance from a lawyer. This professional may be present from the lodging of a complaint until the possible judgment of the perpetrator of the facts by the correctional court.

Who shall I contact

As a public official (civil servant or contract worker), victim of a infringement such as contempt, you are entitled to a functional protection.

This way, the employer's administration pays the costs of your case (e.g., legal fees). They can also pay you directly to make good the damage you (or your loved ones) have suffered.

In that case, it has the right to take legal action against the perpetrator in order to recover that sum. To do this, you (or the public prosecutor's office) have already initiated proceedings against this individual (for example, by filing a complaint).

Following your filing of a complaint, the perpetrator of a contempt of an officer can be prosecuted and then sentenced to criminal sanctions by thecorrectional court.

This infringement is punished differently depending on the status of the public official.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Depositary agent of the public authority

The penalties incurred by the perpetrator of a contempt of a public official depend on the official's function.

General case

Contempt of a public official shall be punishable by:

  • 1 year in prison and €15,000 fine if it is done by one person
  • 2 years in prison and €30,000 fine if it is the work of several persons.
Contempt of an agent employed in a jurisdiction

Contempt of magistrate or to any other person working within a jurisdiction (e.g. registrar) shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of one year and €15,000 of fine.

When the contempt is committed during a hearing, these sentences amount to 2 years in prison and €30,000 of fine.

Please note

These penalties apply to the perpetrator of a contempt committed against a juror.

Contempt of a firefighter

Contempt of a firefighter or a firefighter shall be punishable by:

  • 1 year in prison and €15,000 fine if it is done by one person
  • 2 years in prison and 30,000 fine if it is the work of several persons.

Agent with a public service mission

Sentences vary depending on several factors:

  • Quality of the officer subject to the contempt
  • Place where he was committed.
General case

Contempt against an official performing a public service task shall be punished by:

  • A fine of €7,500 and a sentence of work of general interest if it is done by one person
  • Sentence of 6 months in prison and €7,500 fine if it is the work of several persons.
Contempt against a public passenger transport operator

Contempt of an agent of a public passenger transport operator shall be punishable by six months' imprisonment and €7,500 of fine.

Contempt in a school

Insulting an official in or near a school shall be punishable by six months' imprisonment and €7,500 of fine.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region