French vocabulary: Crime, Law and Justice
Reading time: 2 minutes Difficulty: Intermediate- Advanced
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 handy sometime soon. If it doesn’t, then simply bask in the knowledge that you know these law words – in French.
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| Crime | Le crime |
| Offence | L’infraction (f) |
| Offence, crime | Le délit |
| Fine, parking ticket | La contravention |
| Hardened criminal | Le criminel endurci |
| Attack, assault, mugging | L’agression (f) |
| Assailant | Un agresseur |
| To mug | Agresser |
| To stab | Poignarder |
| Manslaughter | L’homicide involontaire (m) |
| Murder | Le meurtre /L’assassinat (m) |
| Murderer | Le meurtrier/la meurtrière / L’assassin/l’assassine |
| Rape | Le viol |
| Rapist | Le violeur |
| To abduct | Enlever |
| Kidnapping | L’enlèvement (m) |
| Abduction | Le rapt |
| Kidnapper | Le kidnappeur/la kidnappeuse |
| Kidnapper | Le ravisseur/la ravisseuse |
| Hostage | L’otage (m/f) |
| Ransom | La rançon |
| Burglary | Le cambriolage |
| Burglar | Le cambrioleur |
| To loot | Piller / Mettre à sac |
| Hold up | Le hold-up (m) |
| Gangster | Le gangster |
| Robbery | Le vol avec violences |
| Bribery | La corruption |
| Open to bribery | Corruptible |
| Bribe | Le pot de vin |
| Blackmail | Le chantage |
| To blackmail | Faire chanter / Soudoyer |
| Extortion | L’extorsion (f) |
| Fraud | La fraude |
| Drug pusher | Le revendeur de drogues |
| Drug trafficking | Le trafic de drogues |
| Police | La Police |
| Police station | Le poste de police |
| Emergency services | La police-secours |
| Traffic police | Les agents de circulation (m) |
| Plain-clothes policeman | Le policer/la policière en civil |
| Police dog | Le chien policier |
| Inquiry, investigation | L’enquête (f)/ Les recherches (f) |
| Interrogation | L’interrogatoire (m) |
| Private detective | Le détective privé |
| Identification | La pièce d’identité |
| Lost property office | Le bureau des objets trouvés |
| Justice | La justice |
| Trial | Le procès |
| Public prosecutor | Le procureur |
| Magistrate | Le magistrat |
| Jury | Le jury |
| Juror | Le/la juré(e) |
| Lawyer | Le/la juriste |
| Lawyer | L’avocat/l’avocate |
| Solicitor | Le notaire |
| Indictment | L’inculpation (f) |
| Defendant | L’accusé(e) |
| Proof | La preuve |
| Evidence | Les preuves (f) |
| Plaintiff | Le/la poursuivant(e) |
| Witness | Le témoin |
| To plead guilty | Plaider coupable |
| To plead not guilty | Plaider non coupable |
| To make a statement | Faire une déclaration |
| To make a testimony | Faire une déposition |
| Statement | Le constat |
| Confession | L’aveu (m) |
| To charge | Inculper |
| To appeal | Interjeter l'appel |
| Court of appeal | La cour d’appel |
| La caution | Bail |
| L’acquittement (m) | Acquittal |
| Acquitter | To acquit |
| To discharge | Relaxer |
| To be found guilty | Etre reconnu coupable |
| Detention | La détention |
| Pardon | La grâce |
| imprisonment | L’incarcération (f) |
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About the Author Frederic Bibard
Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Twitter and Google +