Inappropriate remarks and refusal to file a complaint: the exemplarity of the Gendarme put to the test of proportionality

In an unprecedented judgment delivered on July 8, 2025, the Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal recalled the ethical requirements that are imposed on Gendarmes in their relationships with the public.

‍

This article from our partner Myrina Prestel, for Le Village de la Justice, proposes to analyze the reasoning used by the administrative judge to consider that there was reason to recognize a breach with regard to the policeman and to alert on the risks of a denial of listening in a context of highly degraded work for the gendarmerie. However, the administrative judge seems to have taken all of these elements into account, ensuring that the proportionate nature of the penalty was respected.