A man from Roquebrune-Cap-Martin has been sent to prison for a month and banned from driving in Monaco for three years after being caught driving with almost four times the legal alcohol limit near Place du Casino, according to Monaco-Matin.
The 39-year-old had only recently got his licence back after a seven-month suspension, again for drink-related offences, Monaco-Matin reports. He is also already known to the French courts for similar cases.
Police stopped his Audi A3 near Place du Casino on Wednesday, September 30. Monaco-Matin says officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from the car, where a can of beer was tucked into the door and a second was emptying onto the floor.
A test at the Sûreté Publique station put his alcohol level just under two grams per litre of blood. Criminal court president Florestan Bellinzona told him he was “two thirds of the way” to an alcoholic coma, and described him as a public danger, Monaco-Matin reports.
The driver appeared before the criminal court on Friday, October 2, under the fast-track immediate appearance procedure, having been held in custody since his arrest. He offered little in his defence and admitted to the court that he has a problem with alcohol, according to Monaco-Matin.
Deputy prosecutor Thibault Druon pointed to the repeated warnings the man had already had in France, where he would face repeat offender status. Monaco-Matin reports that he stressed the courts are there to protect society, not to provide medical care, and that it was up to the man to get help.
Prosecutors asked for two months in prison, with 45 days suspended, and for the remaining 15 days to be served in detention. They also wanted a three-year driving ban in the Principality and for the car to be confiscated.
The defence lawyer, Maître Rapaire, argued that his client had finally grasped the seriousness of what he had done and should be given a chance by being kept out of prison, Monaco-Matin reports.
The court went further than the prosecution. The man was given three months, two of them suspended under probation for two years, with an order to undergo treatment for his alcohol problem. He will serve the remaining month in prison, he is banned from driving in Monaco for three years and his car has been seized.