Like a taste of injustice. On Monday 19 June our colleagues from Parisian revealed the story of a Filipino delivery man who was violently run over in late May by a drunk embassy employee. The latter has brandished his diplomatic immunity and will not a priori be held civilly liable or prosecuted. The 30-year-old delivery boy, on the other hand, was summoned by the investigators last week, after leaving the hospital, and risks expulsion. In addition to having lost his moped, destroyed in the accident, and therefore, a fortiori, his job as a delivery boy.
The driver initially wanted to escape
The facts date back to May 18. Asked by The ParisianKamel, taxi driver, witness of the scene, retraces this spectacular accident, which took place in VIIAnd district of Paris, a stone’s throw from the Chinese embassy, where the accused driver works as a cook:
At a green light, the black car “goes off with a bang,” says Kamel. Its driver then loses control, “runs through the traffic lights, spins like a top, rolls over and, in its path, throws the delivery man on his scooter with his Uber Eats bag”. The car ends up flipped on its roof. “It was like in a movie,” recalls the witness.
Le Parisien, “Paris: overthrown by a drunk embassy employee, the undocumented messenger risks expulsion”
Kamel rushes to help the delivery boy, who is lying on the ground. The latter does not want help to come, having no social security and fearing for his status. Eventually he was transported to the hospital, at the insistence of the fire brigade. Then Kamel turns to the cook machine to help him:
“It smelled like alcohol inside!” I help the boy but his first instinct is to grab his bag and leave! Here, I say, No, coco! You won’t leave like this. Kamel holds him and waits for the police.
Le Parisien, “Paris: overthrown by a drunk embassy employee, the undocumented messenger risks expulsion”
Two weights, two measures
According to the information of Parisianit takes six police squads to “ freeze the situation and prevent the driver from leaving “. After two hours of negotiation, and the intervention of a representative of the Chinese embassy, the recalcitrant motorist is finally subjected to a blood alcohol test: it is 0.56 g/litre of blood. ” This suggests the rate at the time of the shock, two hours earlier “, an annoyed police source comments.
The driver finally leaves free, while the bellboy leaves on a stretcher.
How far does diplomatic immunity go?
How to explain that the driver, who was driving at over 60 km/h and could have killed the delivery man on his scooter, walks away freely? The issue of diplomatic immunity is a delicate one. Defined by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, it is justified as follows on the Vie Publique website: “ Agents of the diplomatic corps enjoy privileges and immunities necessary for the performance of their functions in the receiving state (the host state) “. Its degree of application (partial or total) depends on the degree of immunity of the agent concerned and refers in particular to the following principles:
- ” personal inviolability : the receiving state (ANDHost State) must guarantee the security of the diplomatic agent. He must therefore not harm his person, his freedom or his dignity, which excludes any measure of arrest or detention.
- L’immunity from jurisdiction : it is at the same time criminal, civil and administrative. In criminal terms, this also concerns acts outside the exercise of diplomatic functions. The only exception is for international crimes. The benefit of civil and administrative immunities is affected by only a few exceptions »
As remembered THE Parisian“ a magistrate may however consider prosecution and study how to handle such cases depending on the country concerned “. But we are dealing with diplomatic relations between countries and any case involving this principle automatically becomes eminently political:
“We are walking on eggshells, continues a Justice Ministry source. In fact, it often ends in what’s called a official complaint with the country concerned. A kind of Move, there’s nothing to see, which is equivalent to getting rid of the cumbersome file so as not to upset the country concerned, by telling it It’s also an offense to you. Judge him if you want! »
Le Parisien, “Paris: overthrown by a drunk embassy employee, the undocumented messenger risks expulsion”
This incident is sadly symbolic (and revolting) in what it opposes: on the one hand a driver who benefits from privileged immunity, abused here, and on the other a delivery boy in a situation of intense precariousness, who enjoys no protection legitimacy or compensation. And that, for trying to earn a living, he is now threatened with a return ticket. ” This incident highlights the vulnerability of these delivery workers, many of whom are undocumented, enlightens Étienne Deschamps, jurist and member of the National Confederation of Workers (CNT), to our colleagues in the Parisian. They work under a pseudonym, rent accounts and earn almost 2 euros an hour. It’s a sanctimonious system that scales well across platforms and has done so for years. »
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
