Drunk at the wheel and refusing to comply, a Mentonnais sentenced in Monaco

The 40-year-old was a repeat offender, having been convicted of similar offences in February 2022. 

“What wasn’t clear to you last time?” The Monegasque magistrates noted, with some annoyance, that the man before them had patently not learned the lesson of his first appearance two years previously, which resulted in a fine of €800 and a four-month ban on driving within the Principality. In fact, after drinking between 1.5 and 2 litres of beer, the sales manager drove his vehicle home on February 13. This time, he made things worse for himself by refusing to comply.

Stationed at the Madone roundabout, the police signalled the driver to pull over. What seemed like a simple random check, turned out to be a completely different story. The man did not slow down, and went off in the opposite direction.

He later stated that he did not realise they were police officers, but a patrol car a little further on managed to stop him. The officers immediately noticed he appeared to have been drinking and took the individual to the police station. The breathalyser registered an alcohol level of 0.63 mg per litre of exhaled air, when the legal limit is 0.25.

Three-month suspended sentence

The presiding magistrate, Florestan Bellinzona said: “either you wanted to avoid the police check, or you were so drunk that you didn’t spot the police officers.” The prosecutor protested the bad faith of the accused. “They were wearing yellow vests with “POLICE” printed on them”, he said, before requesting a three-month suspended sentence, a 2-year driving ban in Monaco, and a €1,000 fine. “I don’t understand how you could have failed to see it was a police check,” said Julien Pronier.

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The court handed down the sentence requested by the prosecution, despite the apologies expressed beforehand by the accused. The judges decided to reduce the driving ban in the Principality to one year, however.