Awwal 07, 1432, Feb 10, 2011, SPA -Thousands of judges, lawyers and police officers staged protest marches in Paris and other French cities Thursday after coming under heavy criticism from President Nicolas Sarkozy, dpa reported. The western city of Nantes was the epicentre of the day of action, called to protest against police and judges being put in the dock by Sarkozy over the murder of an 18-year-old girl. Around 2,000 people, including judges and lawyers in red and black robes and prisoner reintegration counsellors, marched behind a banner that read: "Justice is in danger, let's unite". Paris, Toulouse, Marseille and Bordeaux also saw similar protests, which unions representing judges described as unprecedented. The furore began when Sarkozy last week weighed in on the murder of Laetitia Perrais, an 18-year-old waitress, whose dismembered body was found in a pond in a village near Nantes. The president took the courts to task over the fact that the 31-year-old convicted sex offender suspected of her murder did not receive counselling on his release from prison last year, as stipulated in his release conditions. Sarkozy said the oversight was an "offence" that would be "punished." Judges across the country are smarting from the attack, saying a shortage of resources - not incompetence - is to blame for Tony Meilhon, the suspect, slipping through the supervision net. Over the past week, 170 out of 195 French courts have suspended all non-urgent hearings in protest, causing cases to pile up. Since becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy has frequently used murder cases involving repeat offenders to hammer judges and push through tougher anti-crime laws. The president was expected to discuss his tussle with the judges on a television debate programme on Thursday evening. -- SPA
