If the offender violates the court order on temporary protection, the victim should report the violation to the police immediately by calling the police on 17 or 112. If the victim is unable to speak (due to danger or disability), they can send a free text message to the police on 114 and will then communicate with the police in writing. If there is no emergency, the victim can instead call the local police or gendarmerie station instead.
Commencement of proceedings
The police will then control whether the perpetrator complies with the court order and the preventive measures set therein. Therefore, the police are obliged to start criminal proceedings if they receive information that the perpetrator has violated the order on protection. In practice, such information is most commonly provided by the victims themselves. The perpetrator will be summoned by the investigating authorities and will be placed in police custody (“garde à vue”), which is a measure taken by the police or gendarmerie by which a person suspected of having committed a criminal offence is detained for a short period of time in the police or gendarmerie station during the investigation.
If the public prosecutor considers that there is sufficient evidence and that the case is ready for trial, the prosecutor may initiate a special procedure called “comparution immediate”, a fast-track procedure that allows to bring the defendant to trial immediately after custody. This procedure is used for simple criminal offences that do not require in-depth investigation. It can only be applied for misdemeanours and not for crimes. The defendant must be assisted by a lawyer for this procedure and must agree to be heard in trial immediately. If the defendant refuses to be tried immediately, the court must follow their choice and will postpone the case to a later hearing which must take place between two and six weeks later.
Appeal
If the victim of domestic violence submits a complaint to the police regarding the violation of the court order on protection, and the public prosecutor decides not to initiate criminal proceedings and classifies the case as “sans suite”, this decision may be appealed to the general prosecutor of the court of appeal by post. The general prosecutor will examine the complaint and, if they approve of the appeal, they can order the public prosecutor to initiate proceedings. If they reject the appeal, they must inform the applicant.