If 2024 coincided with the Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP), 2025 will mark the 200th anniversary of the Yvelines bar. Another busy year for the president, Raphaël Mayet, in which he pays tribute to the unfailing commitment of his colleagues.
Actu-Juridique: What impact did the Games have on Yvelines?
Raphaël Mayet: The bar in Versailles was contacted several months ago because the authorities had expressed fears of an increase in the number of offenses which could be observed in the presence of several spectators, including foreign tourists. At the origin of this fear, the memory of the organization of the final of Champions league at the Stade de France in 2022, very quickly and without much preparation, since the invasion of Ukraine had made this organization impossible in Russia. Foreign and English spectators had been victims of attacks, thefts, things had gone badly.
Yveline’s department was the 3rde venue for the Games. We have had many events in closed environments, such as track cycling, BMX, horse riding, but also open events with cycling races, the two marathons or, during the Paralympic Games, golf, which makes it impossible to control the access of spectators to the passage of the athletes. area. Many meetings were held on this occasion, which made it possible to explain the traffic restrictions that would take place during the period, as well as to prepare the possibility of a significant increase in procedures to be assessed, knowing that The guiding idea was that it , that happened at the Games, were to remain and be judged during the Games.
AJ: Have the police and justice system become overstretched?
Raphaël Mayet: There have been cases of malicious behavior on TGVs which have raised fears that we could be involved in organized events, not forgetting the fear associated with international news or even acts of terrorism near the stations. Afterwards we can say to ourselves: “We predicted high tides and we didn’t even have a bite”, but we had prepared for an eventuality, knowing that it was only an eventuality. Finally, we must be happy that it happened under good conditions, but I don’t think there was oversizing.
AJ: How did you get organized?
Raphaël Mayet: Duplication of structures capable of directly judging noteable offenses was introduced. On the side of the bar, we had backup lawyers, volunteers, during a period when there is traditionally less activity. The lawyers responded and some also wanted to stay to witness the trials. Finally, they were prompted for the warned reinforcements only once and twice for the victim reinforcements. We had doubled the duration of the court, but the mobilization of judges and police officers did not create any activity specific to the Olympic Games. In reality, the events were very calm, as the holding of somewhat risky events like the Mali/Israel match quickly convinced us. The strong mobilization of the security services with a highly visible presence of the armed forces, including in the center of Versailles, undoubtedly made it possible to avoid an increase in criminal activity. Perhaps we witnessed a spillover of the Olympic spirit, as it was a meeting between all the countries of the world and not one country against another. The department was very mobilized, in a sort of enchanted parenthesis, of which it is still unclear whether the effects will be positive in the long term.
At the bar level, we also created a certain number of posters, placed in different places, containing a QR code which gave access to the bar’s website with the languages used – from Afghani to German – ideal for foreign clients, victims or accused.
AJ: Ultimately the results are positive for the bar?
Raphaël Mayet: We saw the lawyers’ enthusiasm for the event itself, when the Olympic flame passed under the lawyer’s house in Versailles on 23 July, and there were many in attendance. After that, they showed a willingness to be present if needed. It must be said that the previous year there was a very sudden demand for the urban riots of June 2023, which was not prepared. The lawyers could react spontaneously. This year we were ready without the needs in front, but there is no point in preparing an organization so that it is able to respond to extraordinary circumstances.
AJ: What are the challenges for 2025?
Raphaël Mayet: The year 2024 was marked by the Games. 2025 will mark the 200th anniversary of our Bar Association with 754 practicing lawyers out of 900. We will be keen to bring the Bar Association together in all its components, age and situation. 20 years ago, lawyers saw each other constantly at the courthouse, but today, with dematerialization and remote working, this data has fundamentally evolved. The order must therefore create bridges within our profession. Thus, honorary lawyers, retired, but who still carry out many missions for the order and often represent what constitutes the profession’s tradition by warning us against what we think are good ideas, but which have already been difficult to experience in the past. , now sits on the council of order, with an advisory vote, which was already the case for young lawyers. At the start of the year, we also adopted the International Charter of Rights for Young Lawyers to show that we care about all lawyers, regardless of their seniority and practice status. We have also carried out a certain number of unifying activities such as sports and leisure activities. We must guard against the risk of archipelago formation.
AJ: Quit lawyers mental health?
Raphaël Mayet: We, like other bars, have become aware of the state of mental exhaustion of some of our members, damaged by the health crisis and the financial difficulties resulting from it. Since September, we have implemented a cycle of psychological consultations, which is new. Until then, it was believed that the lawyer practiced an independent profession and that everyone was responsible for their own health. In reality, we are actually an independent profession, but we all practice within the same order. The people who need support the most are not necessarily those who will take the initiative to go to a professional themselves, so this initiative de-dramatizes the use of psychological support and provides real access to psychological support.
AJ: How can we better plan for plaintiffs for the 200th anniversary?
Raphaël Mayet: It is clear that some remain on the steps of the palace. For example, we will set up consultations accessible to people with disabilities by December [la Journée mondiale des personnes handicapées est le 3 décembre, NDLR] because the situation of the offices today often does not allow them to be accommodated. In collaboration with the association Plural Law, we will train lawyers in disability law and in accepting people with disabilities, visible or invisible, which fits well with the spotlight of the Paralympic Games, whose impact has been unprecedented. Access to the law requires accessible law and professionals.
Even in a department with affluent cities and disadvantaged suburbs, but which remains predominantly rural and agricultural, some residents have less access to the law. The integration bus already exists in Yvelines, why not join it to give access to traveling rights? Under investigation, we also have the idea of a photo exhibition in Versailles to be in the heart of the city and meet those who are on the steps of the palace. The parent of an autistic child, when he does not know what his options are, when his child is admitted to a psychiatric hospital because there is no room elsewhere, is one of them. Like many other legal cases, but also companies or society. We also communicate a lot on LinkedIn or Instagram, to reach different generations, and finally we explain the law to students, with the court or during the judicial film festival. This year, for example, it included a film about school bullying. It is very interesting to go to the generation steps of the palace.
AJ: You put a lot of emphasis on visiting places of detention…
Raphaël Mayet: Really. Since December 2021, the law has given the Presidents of the Republic a visitation right that until then existed for parliamentarians. It was one of our priorities, because the Yvelines department has four correctional facilities. I find this task significant because it is the only time the legal profession is given a role beyond the organization of its own profession. We have a societal role to play, that is, what happens behind walls where people don’t go.
I was hoping that the four correctional facilities would be visited before July. At the youth institution Porcheville we were interested in the question of the interruption of the education of minors during the summer period, while at the detention center in Poissy we questioned the problem of reintegration of prisoners serving very long prison terms. In all prison establishments, we noted a serious difficulty in dealing with the mental health of prisoners. A prison guard is not a carer and vice versa. In Porcheville, there are also no referring child psychiatrists and no advanced practice nurse, although this could help detect troubling or self-aggressive behavior and reduce the risk of suicide. The problem of prison overcrowding in Bois-d’Arcy is worrying, with more than 150 prisoners living in groups of three on 9m². We must work in partnership with the prison administration and come up with proposals. So we proposed to hold an oratorical contest in Porcheville, an idea which was accepted to our great delight. It will be an opportunity for young people to start reading again, think, express themselves and finally gain confidence, therefore shining outside of what led to their detention.
