“They ignited the blood” in French National Assembly and the discussion was interrupted when the Minister of Justice Eric Dupont-Moretti made one obscene gesture to the head of the right-wing caucus when he recalled his run-ins with the law.

The National Assembly was debating a bill that would ban violent crime offenders from running for elected office. The chairman of the Republican group, Olivier Marlet, referred to several cases involving members of the presidential majority, including the minister of justice.

Eric Dupont-Moretti “answered” by making an obscene gesture twice.

He later apologised, however, saying he was “not addressing Mr Marlet” but “insulting the presumption of innocence”.

Dupont-Moretti, a well-known jurist, is accused by judges’ associations and the anti-corruption organization Anticor of using the minister’s office to “settlement his accounts” with judges he had come up against while practicing law. The Court of the Republic (CJR), which is competent to hear cases of ministers, ordered in October 2022 that he be referred to trial, which is the first time for a sitting minister of justice. His lawyers have appealed against the decision.

The National Assembly meeting was briefly suspended and resumed after Dupont-Moretti apologized.