{"id":1906,"date":"2026-06-27T18:52:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T16:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/votre-litige-test.local\/?page_id=1906"},"modified":"2026-06-27T18:55:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T16:55:20","slug":"file-a-complaint","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/deposer-une-plainte\/","title":{"rendered":"File a complaint"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several ways to file a complaint, depending on the nature of the incident and your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. At the police station or at the gendarmerie station<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the most common approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can go to <strong>any<\/strong> police station or gendarmerie unit, regardless of where the incident occurred. The police or gendarmerie are required to accept your complaint if you believe you have been the victim of a crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If possible, please bring the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a form of identification; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>a chronological summary of the facts; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>all relevant documents (contracts, invoices, photographs, screenshots, emails, text messages, medical certificates, etc.); ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the contact information of any witnesses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An officer will take your statement and draft a report, which you can review before signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. By mail to the public prosecutor<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may also file a complaint directly with the public prosecutor at the judicial court in the jurisdiction where the offense was committed or where the alleged perpetrator resides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your letter must describe in detail:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the facts; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>dates and locations; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the individuals concerned, if known; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>your damages; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the attached supporting documents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Through the online preliminary complaint form<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For certain property crimes (theft, fraud, vandalism, etc.) where the perpetrator is unknown, you can file a preliminary complaint online before going to a police station or gendarmerie to sign it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>After filing a complaint<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your complaint is forwarded to the public prosecutor, who decides how to proceed. In particular, the prosecutor may:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>launch an investigation; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>request further investigations; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>propose an alternative to prosecution when permitted by law; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>to bring a lawsuit before a court; ;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or dismiss the case if there is insufficient evidence or if the legal requirements are not met.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Good to Know<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Filing a complaint is <strong>free<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your French is not good enough, you can ask for the assistance of an interpreter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you are the victim of a crime, you can receive support from a victim assistance organization throughout the process.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vous pouvez d\u00e9poser une plainte de plusieurs fa\u00e7ons, selon la nature des faits et votre situation. 1. Au commissariat de police ou \u00e0 la brigade de gendarmerie C\u2019est la d\u00e9marche la plus courante. Vous pouvez vous pr\u00e9senter dans n\u2019importe quel commissariat de police ou brigade de gendarmerie, quel que soit le lieu o\u00f9 les faits &#8230; <a title=\"File a complaint\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/deposer-une-plainte\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about D\u00e9poser une plainte\">Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1906","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1906"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1910,"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1906\/revisions\/1910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/votre-litige.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}