Georges Vincent Antoine Fenech (born 26 October 1954) is a French former magistrate and politician. A member of The Republicans (LR), he represented the 11th constituency of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

department in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

from 2002 to 2008 and again from 2012 until 2017. He has been a legal affairs consultant for the CNews television channel since 2017.

Biography

Born to a Maltese father and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

mother in Sousse in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, in 1963 Fenech's family was

repatriated Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where they settled in

Givors Givors (; frp, Givôrs) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Location It lies at the confluence of the Rhone and the Gier about south of Lyon and on the main road between that city and Sai ...

. After studying for a law degree, he started a career as a judge. One of his most high-profile cases was the investigation on the assassination of the judge François Renaud (nicknamed "le shérif" by

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

's underworld) in Lyon on 3 July 1975. Fenech was the 6th judge to take over this case, and the one who dropped the case for lack of evidence in 1992. He was also in charge of the first case involving

Scientology in France The Church of Scientology of France is organized as a group of secular nonprofit organizations.National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

(representing the

as a member of

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right List of political parties in France, political party in France that was one of the two major party, major contemporary political pa ...

(UMP). In December 2005, Fenech was a member of the Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry about the Outreau trial (a judicial incident with men and women being held for years in jail on unfounded suspicions), which had been called by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Jacques Chirac in order to help prevent a recurrence of this situation through alterations in France's legal system. On 28 June 2006, in response to a unanimous resolution of the Law Commission (commission des lois), the French National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to set up a

Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France The French National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of France, set up a Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France (french: Commission parlementaire sur les sectes en France) on 11 July 1995 following the events involving the members ...

, about the influence of

cultic Cult is the care (Latin: '' cultus'') owed to deities and temples, shrines, or churches. Cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony. Its present or former presence is made concrete in temples, shrines and churches, and cult images, including votiv ...

movements and the consequences of their practices on the physical and mental health of minors. Georges Fenech was appointed President of this Commission. The Commission presented its report to the Assembly on 19 December 2006. The report contained 50 recommendations which aimed to protect endangered children. The same year, he was appointed by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...

a mission to study the

ankle monitor The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...

to strengthen the fight against recidivism. An ankle monitor is a device that individuals under house arrest or

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

are often required to wear. On his initiative was created in the French National Assembly a Parliamentary study group on the homelessness, of which he became president. He was appointed draftsman of the Act enforceable

right to housing The right to housing (occasionally right to shelter) is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International ...

. Fenech was also a member of the Law Commission, judge of the Law court of the Republic (

Cour de Justice de la République The ''Cour de Justice de la République'' (CJR, "Court of Justice of the Republic") is a special French court established to try cases of ministerial misconduct. Its remit only extends to government ministers (or former ministers) concerning off ...

), Secretary of the

Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie The ''Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonies'' (APF) is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries. History It was established in Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: li ...

and member of the Parliamentary study group regarding

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

issues. Fenech was re-elected in 2007. On 27 March 2008, the Constitutional Council canceled his reelection on the grounds of violation of

campaign finance laws Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

and made him ineligible for one year. However, the Constitutional Council said that the violation was of a formal nature and that the automatic penalty of cancellation might be not appropriate. He protested the decision. Following such cancellation, the Parliament amended the law so that this type of violation does not imply cancellation of the election. On 23 September 2008, Fenech was appointed by President Nicolas Sarkozy President of

MIVILUDES The MIVILUDES (''Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires''; Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Drifts) is a French government agency, created by presidential decree in 2 ...

, a body within the French executive in charge of monitoring cults. Georges Fenech has been reelected from June 2012 as a member of the French Parliament (representing the

as a member of

). He is a member of the Law Commission, President of the parliamentary study group on Cults, member of the National Observatory of Delinquency ( Observatoire national de la délinquance et des réponses pénales), Member of the Parliamentary Commission of Enquiry on the role of intelligence service of the French police in the case of French terrorist

Mohammed Merah Mohammed Merah (10 October 1988 – 22 March 2012) was a French jihadist who admitted to killing seven people, including three children, in several shootings in southwestern France in March 2012. He was killed following a police siege and st ...

. He is also Vice-President of parliamentary relations groups, France-

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and France-

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. From March 2014 he is member of Lyon municipal council and metropolitan council.

Problems with justice

Georges Fenech resigned in 1998 from the magistrate union over which he was presiding, after an antisemitic article written by his colleague Alain Terrail in the magistrate union's magazine. As publication director of this magazine, Georges Fenech was found guilty of racial public insults by the 17th chamber of the Parisian Court in November 2000 for having published this article, but without penalty. In June 2012, he was again found guilty by the 17th chamber of the Parisian Court, for public

slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

against a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

association he had attacked as a " cult" in the annual report of the

. He appealed this decision.

Bibliography

He is the author of books about justice, security,

cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

and press : * ''Main basse sur la justice'' (1997), Jean-Claude Lattès (8,000 copies) * ''La moralisation des Marchés publics'' (1998) * ''Face aux sectes : politiques, justices, État'' (1999)

PUF PUF may refer to: * Physical unclonable function, in computer security, a physically-implemented secure identifier * The University Presses of France *Permanent University Fund, for Texas public universities * Pau Pyrénées Airport in France (I ...

(2,000 copies) * ''Tolérance Zéro. En finir avec la criminalité et les violences urbaines, Grasset'' (2001) (20,000 copies) * ''L'insécurité'', Éditions des Syrtes, 2002 * ''Un juge en colère. En finir avec le juge d'instruction'', Éditions du Félin, 2005 * ''Presse-justice : liaisons dangereuses'', L'Archipel, 2007 *
La justice face aux dérives sectaires
' 2008 * ''Criminels récidivistes : peut-on les laisser sortir ?'', Éditions de l'Archipel, 2009 * Apocalypse : menaces imminentes ? Calmann-Lévy, 2012 * ''Propagande noire'', Editions Kero, janvier 2013, co-written with Alexandre Malafaye * ''Lettre ouverte à Christiane Taubira'', First Document, 2014

References

External links

Georges Fenech
French National Assembly {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenech, Georges 1954 births Living people People from Sousse The Republicans (France) politicians Tunisian emigrants to France French people of Maltese descent French people of Italian descent Politicians of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French magistrates French city councillors