Talk about Crime and the Judicial System in French
Let’s talk about law and justice and learn some essential yet interesting terms & phrases to be used for handling legal matters in French.
Let’s talk about law and justice. Whether your exposure to the world of crime is limited to suspense television shows and action books, or you’re the more hands-on, living-on-the-edge type (oh, you little rebel!), law talk always appears every now and then.
And of course, big words like this need to be interpreted perfectly, otherwise, horrible misunderstandings could well land you somewhere undesirable.
So for this vocabulary list, we give you some useful French words related to law, justice, and crimes. Who knows, this might come in handy sometime soon. If it doesn’t, then simply bask in the knowledge that you know these law words – in French.
Without further ado, here’s the vocabulary list for law, justice, and crime in French!
- CrimeLe crime
- OffenceL’infraction (f)
- Offence, crimeLe délit
- Fine, parking ticketLa contravention
- Hardened criminalLe criminel endurci
- Attack, assault, muggingL’agression (f)
- AssailantUn agresseur
- To mugAgresser
- To stabPoignarder
- ManslaughterL’homicide involontaire (m)
- MurderLe meurtre /L’assassinat (m)
- MurdererLe meurtrier/la meurtrière / L’assassin/l’assassine
- RapeLe viol
- RapistLe violeur
- To abductEnlever
- KidnappingL’enlèvement (m)
- AbductionLe rapt
- KidnapperLe kidnappeur/la kidnappeuse
- Abductor, kidnapperLe ravisseur/la ravisseuse
- HostageL’otage (m)
- RansomLa rançon
- BurglaryLe cambriolage
- BurglarLe cambrioleur
- To lootPiller / Mettre à sac
- Hold upLe hold-up (m)
- GangsterLe gangster
- RobberyLe vol avec violences
- BriberyLa corruption
- Open to briberyCorruptible
- BribeLe pot-de-vin
- BlackmailLe chantage
- To blackmailFaire chanter
- To bribeSoudoyer
- ExtortionL’extorsion (f)
- FraudLa fraude
- Drug pusherLe revendeur de drogues
- Drug traffickingLe trafic de drogues
- PoliceLa police
- Police stationLe poste de police
- Emergency police servicePolice-secours
- Traffic policeLes agents de circulation (m)
- Plain-clothes police officerLe policier/la policière en civil
- Police dogLe chien policier
- Inquiry, investigationL’enquête (f)/ Les recherches (f)
- InterrogationL’interrogatoire (m)
- Private detectiveLe détective privé
- IdentificationLa pièce d’identité
- Lost property officeLe bureau des objets trouvés
- JusticeLa justice
- TrialLe procès
- Public prosecutorLe procureur
- MagistrateLe magistrat
- JuryLe jury
- JurorLe/la juré(e)
- Jurist, legal expertLe/la juriste
- LawyerL’avocat/l’avocate
- NotaryLe notaire
- IndictmentL’inculpation (f)
- DefendantL’accusé(e)
- ProofLa preuve
- EvidenceLes preuves (f)
- PlaintiffLe/la plaignant(e)
- WitnessLe témoin
- To plead guiltyPlaider coupable
- To plead not guiltyPlaider non coupable
- To make a statementFaire une déclaration
- To give testimonyFaire une déposition
- StatementLe constat
- ConfessionL’aveu (m)
- To chargeInculper
- To appealInterjeter appel
- Court of appealLa cour d’appel
- BailLa caution
- AcquittalL’acquittement (m)
- To acquitAcquitter
- To dischargeRelaxer
- To be found guiltyÊtre reconnu coupable
- DetentionLa détention
- PardonLa grâce
- ImprisonmentL’incarcération (f)
P.S. You would be doing me a HUGE FAVOR by sharing it on Facebook, X (Twitter) or Pinterest.
