5 stages of a trial: the defence role in a French court
A French criminal trial has no prosecution opening speech: the court president leads the hearing, and the prosecutor makes formal submissions only once the evidence has been heard. The 5 stages of a trial before French criminal courts run from the opening of the hearing to the verdict. At each stage, the defence has a defined role, and you, as the accused, may face specific decisions.
Which court hears the case?
The court that hears your case depends on how the offence is classified. That classification decides whether you face professional judges alone or a jury, and the name you are given at the hearing. It also decides which of the rules described below apply to you.
The five stages of a French criminal trial
The five stages are a practical account of the hearing. They are not a list set out in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Understanding how criminal trials work in France starts with one fact: the court president directs the oral hearing. Evidence is therefore not split into a prosecution case followed by a separate defence case.
This is the first difference from the trial process in England and Wales. On that basis, the stages of a trial in court can be grouped as follows:
Opening and examination: the court opens the hearing, then examines the evidence under the president's direction.
Defence participation: the defence takes part in that examination and challenges the evidence as it is heard.
Submissions and decision: the parties make final submissions, then the court decides on guilt and sentence.
The distinction that carries weight here is timing. Because the prosecutor speaks last on the merits, the defence has to challenge evidence while it is being examined, not wait for a closing reply.
Trials before the tribunal correctionnel
The tribunal correctionnel tries délits, the middle category of offence. The person on trial is called the defendant, or prévenu. Depending on the case, the court sits with one or three professional judges, and there is no jury.
Without jurors, the debate is between lawyers and professional judges. Cabinet Georges Parastatis prepares defences for hearings before both the correctional and assize courts as part of its criminal defence work in Paris.
Assize and departmental criminal courts
At first instance, the cour d'assises sits with three professional judges and six jurors. The person tried for a crime is called the accused, or accusé. Since 25 July 2026, under Articles 380-16 and 380-17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the cour criminelle départementale has tried qualifying cases against adults accused of crimes punishable by 15 or 20 years' imprisonment. It sits with a president and four assessors and has no jurors. Article 380-19 applies most of the assize rules to it, apart from those that concern jurors.
Stage one: how does the trial open?
The opening of a criminal trial is often treated as a formality. In practice, it fixes who is present, what the charge is and which rights you will exercise during the hearing. Several of the choices that matter are made before you ever enter the courtroom.
Preparation that shapes the opening hearing
For an ordinary correctional prosecution, defence counsel may consult the court file once the citation has been served. Where the case comes by summons, access is available no later than two months after notification. That reading of the file decides which evidence the defence will dispute at the hearing.
Before an assize trial, the president normally holds a preparatory meeting at least 45 days before the hearing. The prosecution and the parties' lawyers attend it to agree on the witnesses, the order in which they are heard and how long the hearing should last. Under Article 281, which sits within the Code provisions on the cour d'assises, intended witnesses, including experts from the judicial investigation, must be notified at least one month before the debates open.
Identity, legal assistance and the right to silence
At the start of a correctional trial, the president or an assessor confirms the defendant's identity and names the document that brought the case to court. They also record who is present. Article 406 then requires the court to tell you that you may make statements, answer questions or remain silent.
If you need an interpreter, the court must inform you of that right. A lawyer is not compulsory in every adult correctional trial. Representation becomes mandatory when an infirmity compromises your ability to defend yourself.
Jury selection and opening at assizes
The assize jury is formed in public. Under Articles 297–298, the defence may challenge up to four jurors at first instance. It does so before the prosecution, which may challenge up to three.
Under Article 327, as amended by Law No. 2023-1059, from 30 September 2024 the president must present the evidence both against and in favour of the accused. That includes exculpatory material raised by the defence.
The indictment is then read, and the president questions the accused before any witnesses or experts are heard. Defence counsel is compulsory at this stage, and the court appoints one if you have not chosen your own.
Stages two and three: examining and challenging evidence
In a French criminal trial, the court examines the evidence while the defence takes part in that examination. The two stages run alongside each other. What the defence fails to raise while a witness is at the bar is hard to raise later.
How the court hears evidence
Under Article 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an offence may generally be proved by any type of evidence. The court may base its decision only on evidence that was brought before it and discussed by the parties at the hearing. The hearing follows this order:
Questioning the defendant: in the correctional court, the president questions the defendant.
Hearing witnesses: witnesses give their testimony separately, and prosecution witnesses usually come first, although the president decides the order.
Hearing experts: under Article 168, an expert who gives evidence orally may consult their report and its annexes.
Experts may be questioned only about the work they were appointed to carry out. That limit shapes how the defence prepares its questions.
How the defence tests the account
While the court examines the case, the defence may dispute the prosecution's account and challenge its evidence. It may also call witnesses of its own and present evidence in the form of documents. At assizes, Article 312 allows lawyers to question people at the bar directly once the president has given them permission to speak. The accused puts questions through the president. Lawyers may also ask permission to question directly in the correctional court.
In sexual-offence cases, Cabinet Georges Parastatis compares the alleged chronology with messages, digital records and other objective material. It also examines the methods and limits of the expert reports. This work is central to its defence against sexual assault charges. An inconsistency in time or place can change how the court assesses the facts.
Requests for further investigation
Before a correctional trial, you or your lawyer may ask for steps that you consider necessary to establish the truth. If a requested step was not ordered, the court may consider the request again at trial. It may also order a supplementary investigation under Article 463. Any refusal must give specific reasons.
Law No. 2025-532 of 13 June 2025 allows certain information about investigative techniques to be kept in a separate confidential file where disclosure could seriously endanger someone. In its decision of 12 June 2025, the Constitutional Council required that the defence have a way to challenge how that file is used.
Stage four: submissions and the last word
The closing stage follows a fixed order. Whatever replies are exchanged, the defence always speaks last. That rule decides how the final defence pleading is built.
The order in the correctional court
Under Article 460, the closing stage begins once the correctional court has finished examining the evidence. It proceeds in this order:
Civil party: the civil party presents its claim.
Prosecution: the prosecutor makes submissions, known as réquisitions.
Defence: the defendant or their lawyer presents the defence.
Replies: the civil party and the prosecutor may reply, but the defence keeps the final word.
Parties and lawyers may also file written submissions, known as conclusions. Once properly filed, they are recorded and the court must answer them. A legal point is therefore safer in writing than only in an oral plea.
The order before the assize court
Under Article 346, closing submissions at assizes run from the civil party to the prosecution and then the defence. Replies may follow, but the accused or their lawyer always speaks last. The prosecution may also ask the court to acquit rather than convict.
After defence counsel has pleaded, the president asks the accused whether they wish to make a final statement. That statement needs to be prepared in advance.
Oral advocacy before deliberation
A statement, an answer or a silence can affect how the court assesses the case. Cabinet Georges Parastatis prepares clients for the questions they are likely to face and for their exchanges with the court. The public guidance on trials before the assize court reflects the same oral and public nature of the hearing.
Article 347 prevents the assize president from summarising the arguments of either side when the debates close. Before deliberation, the president reads the questions the court must answer, subject to statutory exceptions. The wording of those questions shapes the decision.
Stage five: verdict and sentence
Unlike the English model, where the jury decides guilt and the judge passes sentence, the French assize court decides both questions in a single deliberation. Its rulings follow strict voting thresholds.
How the assize court votes
As soon as the oral debates end, the professional judges and jurors withdraw to deliberate together. The rules of the vote are as follows:
Secret ballot: guilt is decided by a secret vote.
At least seven votes: a first-instance decision against the accused on guilt needs at least seven votes.
Blank ballots: blank or invalid ballots count in favour of the accused.
Maximum sentence: at first instance, the maximum sentence also requires at least seven votes.
The court decides the sentence only after it has found the accused guilty. With nine members at first instance, the seven-vote threshold means the professional judges cannot convict on their own.
The assize verdict and its effect
Under Article 353, judges and jurors weigh the evidence and the defence case according to their personal conviction, known as intime conviction. Their decision must give reasons. This is why the assize court defence and trial preparation aims to give the court a complete and coherent account of the case.
The verdict is announced in public. An accused person who is acquitted is released, unless they are held in custody in another matter.
Judgment in the correctional court
Under Article 462, the correctional court may give its judgment on the day of the hearing or at a later date. If it defers judgment, the president tells the parties present when it will be delivered.
The court may acquit the defendant, which is called a relaxe. It may instead convict and impose a sentence.
Where there is a civil party, the court also decides on their claim. In some circumstances, it may rule on the criminal and civil aspects separately.
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