Moroccan-Born Prosecutor Leads Fight Against Racism in French Justice System

Born in Morocco, Abdelkrim Grini arrived in France at the age of four with his family. They settled in La Paillade, in Montpellier. Nothing predestined the one who was naturalized French at the age of 19 to become a lawyer at the Montpellier bar at 25, then a magistrate. The fight against discrimination and racism he experienced from adolescence would be the trigger for his vocation. He tells France inter that he had been chased away from village dances where he wanted to go dancing with his friends. "Some people viewed our presence negatively, and we would leave to avoid violence. They would say: ’You, get out, you have nothing to do here, go back to your neighborhood’."

He adds: "It’s a wound when you’re about fifteen and you face that head-on. So, either you react with violence, or you tell yourself: I’m going to try to study, to hang on to show that I can be someone respectable". Young Abdelkrim chose the second option. "I was lucky to have loving parents and especially a father who told me ’be careful, violence solves nothing, study, my son!’ Today, I’m reaping the benefits and I’m sincerely very proud of it".

As a teenager, he was active in associations: "We had created one of the first neighborhood associations in La Paillade in ’83, to fight racism. We fought for equal rights and equal opportunities. We didn’t want to fall into violent reaction. There were many young people with this mindset." Even during his studies, he continued the fight against discrimination. He conducted the first "testing" of its kind in Hérault cities and managed to get nightclubs in Montpellier, La Grande-Motte, and Palavas convicted for refusing him entry, with bailiff’s reports as evidence.

"With my friends, we were very frequently turned away at the entrance by doormen. Obviously, it was based on appearance and I couldn’t accept that. We filed complaints and the public prosecutor of Montpellier at the time launched an investigation. A trial was held before the criminal court in 1997," recounts the 54-year-old magistrate. He doesn’t hide the existence of racism in Alès where he has been serving as prosecutor for 18 months. "I know this because sometimes I receive complaints about discrimination, I also have family members who experience it. In any case, the judicial authority and public powers are extremely sensitized to this fundamental issue, to this fight against racism and antisemitism".