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French justice minister ‘devastated’ after son arrested

France’s justice minister said he was “devastated” on Friday after his son was reportedly detained in an upmarket ski resort on suspicion of domestic violence.

“As a father, I’m devastated,” Eric Dupond-Moretti told reporters. “My thoughts are for the victim. Any violence, whatever it is, is intolerable.

“As a minister I have not hesitated to fight against violence against women and for them to speak out about it. As a citizen, I ask that my family’s privacy be respected. The justice system must now do its work.”

His son Raphael was detained by police on Friday in the Alpine resort of Courcheval after being questioned for the first time on Thursday, French TV channel TF1 reported.

The news is a another blow to Dupond-Moretti, one of France’s best-known and highest-earning defence lawyers before he joined President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist cabinet in 2020.

In October last year, he was ordered to stand trial in an alleged conflict of interest case in which he is accused of settling scores with magistrates with whom he had clashed during his legal career.

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