“To decide in my eyes to take drugs and then ‘go crazy’, you should not remove criminal responsibility,” Macron told Le Figaro in an interview published on Sunday.
“On this issue, I want the Minister of Justice to submit a change to the law as soon as possible,” he said.
‘It is not for me to comment on a court decision, but I want to thank the family, relatives of the victim and all fellow citizens of the Jewish faith who have been waiting for this trial, for my heartfelt support and determination of the Republic tell protect them, ”Macron said.
The French Jewish community was angry over the decision of the Court of Cassation.
A lower court ruled in December 2019 that Traore was not criminally responsible for his actions, as his large amount of cannabis endangered his “discernment” or his consciousness.
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The Cassation Court upheld the ruling last week.
Macron’s comments follow the outrage in the French Jewish community over the court ruling and statements by Jewish leaders that they intend to push for a change of law.
Several Jewish organizations plan to protest the verdict next Sunday at the Place Du Trocadero in Paris.
Yonthan Arfi, vice-president of CRIF (Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions), condemned the ruling, saying it left a gaping hole in the state’s ability to combat hate crimes.
There would be no further possibility of convicting Traore and being punished, but CRIF will fight on two fronts to rectify the problem more broadly, he said.
CRIF will conduct an awareness campaign on the murder of Halimi and ensure that the general public knows her story, Arfi said.
The organization wants to change the law so that individuals are still criminally responsible for their actions, even if they have ingested drugs.
“We are starting to build consensus on this idea,” he added. “Many people in France take it for granted that if you drink wine and end up in a car accident, you are responsible for losing control of your car.”
Such a bill has not yet been submitted to the French parliament, but numerous MPs have expressed their support for such an amendment, Arfi said.
“This crime was symbolic of the new anti-Semitism,” he said. “The perpetrator was a Muslim. He prayed to Allah while killing her. He was radicalized with a radical Islamic vision, and he knew she was Jewish, so we cannot accept that the anti-Semitic part of this crime will be erased from the collective memory of Sarah Halimi in French society. ‘