Now that we have explored various aspects of the French justice system—its courts, procedures, protocols, and some famous trials—let's take a closer look at the most common types of offenses the courts have to deal with and what court rulings are often issued. The French justice system rend (delivers) thousands of jugements (sentences) every year: 

Tous les ans, la justice française rend plus de quatre cent mille jugements en correctionnelle.

Every year, the French justice system delivers more than four hundred thousand sentences in criminal courts.

Captions 21-22, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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Some of these real-life cases have been dramatized in the series Le jour où tout a basculé - À l'audience, where all manner of crimes and misdemeanors are discussed:

Conflits, escroqueries, drames familiaux.

Conflicts, scams, family dramas.

Caption 25, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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In this particular case, a young mother is accused by her lover of une tentative d’escroquerie à la carte bancaire (attempted credit card fraud):

Elle comparaît pour tentative d'escroquerie à la carte bancaire.

She is appearing before the court for attempted credit card fraud.

Caption 42, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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However, the woman claims that she never attempted to escroquer (to scam) anyone and that her credit card was stolen from her:

J'ai jamais tenté d'escroquer qui que ce soit.

I've never attempted to scam anyone.

Caption 63, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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The prosecution has reason to believe that she may have simulé ce vol (simulated this theft) in order to escroquer son assurance (defraud her insurance). This time, the translation of escroquer is the more specific legal term “to defraud”: 

...dans ce dossier, y a de nombreux éléments qui laissent plutôt penser que vous avez simulé ce vol pour ensuite escroquer votre assurance.

...in this case, there are numerous elements that instead lead us to think that you simulated this theft to then defraud your insurance.

Captions 87-90, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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The stakes are high for the accused: if this woman is reconnue coupable (found guilty) she could face five years of prison and forty-five thousand euros d’amendes (in fines). Note the spelling of amendes with an e, not to be confused with amandes (almonds):

Si cette mère de famille est reconnue coupable des faits qui lui sont reprochés, elle encourt cinq années de prison et quarante-cinq mille euros d'amendes.

If this mother is found guilty of the charges that are being made against her, she incurs five years in prison and forty-five thousand euros in fines.

Captions 46-49, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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In a major recent case, the right-wing politician Marine Le Pen has been convicted of another serious type of fraud, le détournement de fonds publics (embezzlement of public funds):

Marine Le Pen et huit autres personnes, huit euro députés ont été reconnus coupables de détournement de fonds publics à hauteur d'environ trois millions d'euros.

Marine Le Pen and eight other people, eight Euro deputies [Members of European Parliament] have been found guilty of embezzlement of public funds amounting to approximately three million euros.

Captions 18-21, France 24 Marine Le Pen reconnue coupable de détournement de fonds publics

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Le Pen was subject to une peine d'inéligibilité (sentence of ineligibility), which prevents her from running for office for the next five years:

Et tout le monde attend de savoir au final si cette peine d'inéligibilité avec exécution provisoire sera ou pas prononcée aujourd'hui à l'encontre de Marine Le Pen.

And everyone is waiting to know in the end whether this sentence of ineligibility with provisional execution will or will not be pronounced today against Marine Le Pen.

Captions 71-74, France 24 Marine Le Pen reconnue coupable de détournement de fonds publics

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Indeed, une peine d’inégibilité or a similar type of ban, such as une interdiction d'exercer (a ban from exercising one’s profession), can seem just as bad as une peine de prison (a prison sentence), a situation in which the doctor in the following video finds himself: 

Car si le tribunal reconnaît le docteur Cujasse coupable, outre une peine de prison, le prévenu encourt une interdiction d'exercer.

Because if the court finds Doctor Cujasse guilty, in addition to a prison sentence, the defendant risks being banned from exercising his profession.

Captions 40-42, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Mon chirurgien était ivre - Part 1

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The ultimate peine is la peine de mort (death penalty), which was banned in France in 1981. In his humorous song "Le Crépi" (Stucco), Oldelaf jokingly mentions that though he is not in favor of la peine de mort, he thinks something should be done about people who invent eyesores like stucco:

Franchement je ne suis pas / Pour la peine de mort, mais là / Il faudrait faire quelque chose

Frankly I am not / For the death penalty, but here / We should do something

Captions 29-31, Oldelaf Le Crépi

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Thankfully, misdemeanors are usually discouraged with a simple warning. You may have come across the expression sous peine d’amende (under the penalty of a fine) on public signs such as the one Daniel Benchimol is reading here, which says that it is an offense to walk on grass, a common warning in France. (Incidentally, Parisians are divided over that rule, according to this article.) 

Il est interdit donc sous peine d'amende de marcher sur les pelouses et massifs

So it is forbidden, under penalty of a fine, to walk on the lawns and flowerbeds

Captions 34-35, Voyage en France Soissons - Part 2

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There you have it for our Going to Court series. We hope this glimpse into the legal French system will expand your vocabulary and inspire you to explore our legal series Le jour où tout a basculé - À l'audience. Thank you for reading!

We continue our lesson on legal vocabulary. Now that we have explored various French courts and their differences with American courts, we are ready to enter the courtroom and discover the jargon used during court proceedings. We will discuss etiquette, honorific titles, and the similarities and differences between American and French courtroom procedures with the help of our Yabla series Le jour où tout a basculé.

The most important person in the courtroom is le juge or la juge (the judge), who presides over les débats (the proceedings). In this episode, the judge is female, but the narrator refers to her using the definite masculine pronoun le (the). Old habits die hard, perhaps?

C'est le juge Beaulieu qui préside les débats.

It's Judge Beaulieu who is presiding over the proceedings.

Caption 51, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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Le/la juge officially declares l’audience ouverte (the hearing open) with the following statement:

L'audience est ouverte.

The hearing is open.

Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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Conversely, at the end of the hearing, the judge will say:

L’audience est levée.

The hearing is adjourned.

After opening the hearing the judge asks the accused, Ms. Berdil, to se présenter à la barre (take the stand). The literal translation is "go to the bar":

Madame Berdil, présentez-vous à la barre s'il vous plaît.

Ms. Berdil, please go to the bar [take the stand].

Caption 53, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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Just as in American courtrooms, French judges are addressed using a proper honorific title. In French, this is Monsieur le Président or Madame la Présidente (Mr. or Madam President), equivalent to "Your Honor":

Madame la Présidente, je tiens à préciser que ma cliente nie catégoriquement les faits qui lui sont reprochés.

Madam President [Your Honor], I would like to clarify that my client categorically denies the charges that are made against her.

Captions 56-58, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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But it's also acceptable to drop the more formal title Monsieur le Président/Madame la Présidente and address judges by their professional designation, Monsieur le Juge/Madame la Juge (literally, "Mr./Madam Judge") to make a simple informal request:

Monsieur le Juge, je peux retourner à ma place ?

Your Honor, may I return to my seat?

Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Escroqué par une "marieuse" ? - Part 5

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Judges also show respect to lawyers in the courtroom by using the honorific title Maître (Counselor), which applies to both male and female lawyers:

Peut-être, Maître, mais nous devons d'abord juger votre client.

Perhaps, Counselor, but first we must judge your client.

Captions 10-11, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience: Mon chirurgien était ivre - Part 7

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Unlike in English, where it is acceptable to say “sir” or “ma'am” to address a lawyer, it is improper to use monsieur (sir) or madame (ma'am) to address a French lawyer. You have to use Maître:

Merci, Maître.

Thank you, sir.

Caption 22, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Escroqué par une "marieuse" ? - Part 5

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Likewise, the title Maître remains when addressing the lawyer by name. For example, in this video, the lawyer is called Maître Ferrigni. But since there's no direct equivalent of Maître as a term of address in English, the translation is simply "Ms. Ferrigni":

Maître Ferrigni, l'avocate de l'agriculteur

Ms. Ferrigni, the farmer's lawyer

Caption 1, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Escroqué par une "marieuse" ? - Part 5

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English does have an equivalent of Maître in the abbreviation "Esq." (Esquire), which, unlike Maître, only follows the lawyer's full name:

Maître Louise Ferrigni

Louise Ferrigni, Esq.

Finally, let's step outside the courtroom for a moment and discuss what some French people call les avocats (lawyers) who are less than scrupulous. There are two colloquial expressions for this. The first one is un avocat marron (a crooked lawyer). But note the pun: the literal translation of this is “a brown avocado”! The other colorful expression is un avocat véreux (a shady lawyer, literally "a wormy avocado"):

Un avocat marron est un avocat véreux.

A crooked lawyer is a shady lawyer.

Now that you are familiar with some of the vocabulary typically used during court proceedings, are you ready to follow some trials in a French court for some more legal vocabulary? See you again in the courtroom for some interesting discoveries...

In our previous lesson on nouns referring to humans, we learned that many nouns have dual genders that often end in -e in the feminine, which is especially useful for the feminization of job titles. In this lesson, we’ll focus on the many ways to feminize a job title and discuss what happens when there is no feminine equivalent. 

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Most profession names are masculine in French, regardless of whether they refer to men or women:

On a donc un kit de montage complet opérationnel à la portée d'un bon bricoleur ou d'un plombier

So we have a completely operational mounting kit within the capability of a good handyman or a plumber

Captions 30-31, Salon Eco Habitat: Primacalc, système anti-calcaire

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When no feminine title is available, we default to masculine. So, when referring to a woman pilot, for instance, we would simply say un pilote or une femme pilote (a woman pilot). (You may come across the feminine title une pilote, but it's relatively rare.)

Deux femmes pilotes parlent de leurs parcours : sexisme et regard des passagers.

Two female pilots talk about their journeys: sexism and passengers’ stares.

We also resort to the masculine when referring to a profession in general, as in les enseignants (teachers), or when we don’t know the gender of the person in question:

Parce que je dispose d'excellents liens avec les enseignants de mon master,

Because I have excellent connections with my master's degree instructors

Caption 66, QuestionEntretien: Pourquoi vous et pas un autre ? - Part 3

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For all that, many job titles do have a feminine equivalent, which often ends in -e, as in une députée (a female deputy):

Madame George Pau-Langevin, la députée de la quinzième circonscription

Ms. George Pau-Langevin, the deputy for the fifteenth constituency

Caption 92, Actu Vingtième: Le bleu dans les yeux, recyclerie de Belleville

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Note that you can only add an extra -e to an accented -é (-ée). Nouns that already end in -e (no accent) don’t change in the feminine form, as in un/une dentiste (a male/female dentist), the profession chosen by the girl’s schoolmate in the following video from Côte d'Ivoire:

Je veux être une dentiste.

I want to be a dentist.

Caption 96, Nader Fakhry: L'école pour tous

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(Bear in mind that usually, you would omit the article un/une when the job title comes directly after the verb être, but this may vary from one French-speaking country to another.)

In many cases, though, feminizing a job title is not as simple as adding an -e and requires making changes to the noun. 

Sometimes switching to feminine will cause a change in pronunciation for words ending with a consonant, as in un enseignant/une enseignante (teacher). The t in enseignante (female teacher) is sounded, but the t in enseignant (male teacher) is not:

Je suis enseignante de français langue étrangère, à l'Université Nancy Deux

I am an instructor of French as a foreign language at the University of Nancy Two

Caption 2, Yabla à Nancy: Université Nancy 2

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Other times, you will need to add a grave accent (è) and an extra -e to nouns ending in -er, as in infirmier/infirmière (male/female nurse). The suffix -er becomes -ère:

Je voulais être médecin. -C'est vrai? -Ouais, et je suis infirmière.

I wanted to be a doctor. -Is that true? -Yeah, and I am a nurse.

Caption 55, Micro-Trottoirs: Rêves d’enfants

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Nouns ending in -en often change to -enne in the feminine, as in chirurgien/chirurgienne (male/female surgeon). In the following example, we have the masculine version, un chirurgien, with a silent -n: 

Françoise Artigues accuse son chirurgien, le docteur Cujasse

Françoise Artigues is accusing her surgeon, Doctor Cujasse

Caption 1, Le Jour où tout a basculé -  À l'audience: Mon chirurgien était ivre - Part 1

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Nouns ending with the suffix -eur in the masculine form are a little bit more complicated, as they can take on different endings in the feminine. 

Un professeur (a male professor) simply becomes une professeur in the feminine or, less often, une professeure: 

Et j'ai pris sa suite avec la même professeur [or professeure] en fait.

And I followed in her footsteps with the same teacher, actually.

Caption 42, LCM Concert: La Folia à l'abbaye Saint-Victor

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Un auteur (a male author) can be feminized in two different ways. You can call a female author une auteure, a term borrowed from Canada, or you can say une autrice, the suffix -trice being more popular in France:

Enfin, en 2012, l’Académie française propose à son tour l’adoption du mot « auteure ». 

Finally in 2012, the Académie Française in turn proposes the adoption of the word “auteure” (female author).

Indeed, in Canada, they use the -eure suffix, as in traducteure (female translator), more frequently than in France, where they say traductrice instead:

Euh, ça m'a permis beaucoup de voyager et d'être parfois même la traducteure pour mon père ou ma mère

Uh, it's allowed me to travel a lot and to sometimes even be the translator for my dad or my mom

Captions 21-22, Annie Chartrand: Grandir bilingue

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The French usually prefer to use the suffix -trice, as in un acteur/une actrice. In the example below, Melissa Mars introduces herself as une actrice (an actress), among other things:

Bonjour! Je suis Melissa Mars. Je suis actrice, chanteuse, française ou martienne.

Hello! I am Melissa Mars. I'm an actress, singer, French or Martian.

Caption 1, Melissa Mars: Melissa et son premier album

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She also introduces herself as a singer, une chanteuse. Here we have yet another feminine form of -eur: -euse. So une chanteuse is un chanteur in the masculine, and une serveuse (a waitress) is un serveur (a waiter):

La serveuse t'aime bien Nico.

The waitress likes you, Nico.

Caption 16, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 5

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You might also see the suffix -esse, as in docteur/doctoresse (male/female doctor) and maître/maîtresse (school master/schoolmistress), but it's pretty dated.

The Académie Française, the French authority on language, has introduced many new feminine job titles, but it’s up to people to adopt them. Sometimes, women themselves don’t systematically adopt newly feminized titles. In the following video, the female judge introduces herself as le juge Beaulieu (Judge Beaulieu) even though she could have introduced herself as la juge:

Bonjour, je suis le juge Beaulieu.

Hello, I am Judge Beaulieu.

Caption 31, Le Jour où tout a basculé: À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 1

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As you can see, the feminization of job titles is a work in progress, fraught with ambiguity and, sometimes, controversy. Just be sure to follow the correct grammatical rules applying to both masculine and feminine titles, as they are not negotiable in most cases.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for our next lesson on the gender of nouns referring to animals.