According to our colleagues at 20 Minutes, a 22-year-old man was sentenced by the Nîmes Criminal Court to one year in prison, of which six months were suspended, and placed on probation for a period of two years, with the obligation to work and to compensate the victims. He was tried under the summary procedure.
On 6 January, he had insulted the firefighters who had come to the aid of members of his family involved in a road traffic accident and punched one of them in the face. The defendant felt that the firefighters had taken too long to arrive at the scene of the accident, which had taken place in Bouillargues, about ten kilometres south-east of Nîmes.
He walked free from court
According to the same source, the defendant was not in the car involved in the accident. Having been alerted, he arrived at the scene at the wheel of another vehicle… even though he does not hold a driving licence. The fire brigade nevertheless continued to treat the injured.
The civil claims brought by the fire service and SDIS 30 were deemed admissible, and the case was adjourned to a later date for the hearing of civil claims. The court did not follow the prosecutor’s submissions, who had sought a committal order. He left the courtroom a free man.