The Syndicat de la Magistrature (SM; English: Magistrate's Union) is

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

's second largest

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

in terms of membership after the more conservative

Union syndicale des magistrats The Union syndicale des magistrats, commonly abbreviated as USM, is the French largest (and majoritarian) magistrates trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of wo ...

Political positions

Close to the left-wing parties such as the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, it is in favour of a larger independence of the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

from the executive power, often criticising

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

or harsh

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

laws. During the 2005 civil unrest in France, it criticised then-Interior Minister

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

's use of what it considered to be inappropriate language. The Syndicat de la Magistrature is member of

Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés Magistrats Européens pour la Démocratie et les Libertés (MEDEL; English: European Judges for Democracy and Liberty) is a European association of judges and public prosecutors, set up in 1985 to promote a progressive vision of justice in Europe ...

(MEDEL), a progressive European NGO of judges and public prosecutors.

Mur des cons affair

The union was sentenced in 2019 by a Paris appellate court for public insults in what became known as the Mur des cons affair, in which right-wing politicians, comedians, journalists and generals were insulted by various members of the union, through a wall with pinned photographs and comments in the union's headquarters. The union has since lost some of its credibility, as its criticism of newly-appointed Justice Minister

Éric Dupond-Moretti Éric Dupond-Moretti (born 20 April 1961) is a French-Italian lawyer and politician who was appointed Minister of Justice in 2020 by President Emmanuel Macron. As a criminal defence lawyer he is renowned for his record number of acquittals which e ...

in 2020 was largely ignored by President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

.(in French
"Éric Dupond-Moretti "n’est plus notre interlocuteur", "il n’est plus crédible", affirme le Syndicat de la magistrature"
francetvinfo.com, 30 September 2020

References

External links

Official website
Politics of France Trade unions in France {{France-org-stub