What is the right penalty after a fatal road accident?

In the cemetery of Milly-sur-Bradon, a village of 148 souls lost amid the fields and forests of the Meuse region of Lorraine, one grave catches the eye: the stone is barely visible, so covered is it with flowers and marble plaques. The photos show a young, smiling face. That of Chloé, killed in a road accident on 14 November 2021 near Niederkerschen. She had the same blue eyes as her mother Nathalie, who comes to see her every day and takes care of her grave, watering the plants, raking up the dead leaves and changing the decorations with each season. "There hasn't been a Christmas tree in my house since the accident, there's nothing left. I decorate a tree here, with solar lights. She loved Christmas." Chloé's brother, her partner Alizée and their children Jayke and Loé are also frequent visitors. Jayke knows the way by heart to visit "Auntie Chloé", to whom he was so close.

"Chloé was a ray of sunshine, " says Alizée. Chloé was 22 when her life was cut short. A trained pastry chef, she worked at Pains & Traditions in Mont-Saint-Martin, on the border with Luxembourg. She had just entered into a civil partnership and was about to move into a house with her partner, their first purchase. That evening, she was with her cousin Lorie, 19. "They had dinner together and went out clubbing in Luxembourg. Chloé, a responsible driver, didn't touch a drop of alcohol. In fact, she never drank, even at parties." On the way home, Lorie, who had been drinking, wasn't feeling well. Chloé called a friend to help her. They set off again in two cars a little later. "At 2.40am, they crossed paths with a drunk driver."