Learning French: what does sursis mean and when is it used?

Sometimes the news can throw up unintentional linguistic lessons for those of us who do our best to follow les infos en français (the news in French), or it can trigger a little research to discover the origin or meaning of a certain word.

The recent court case involving actor Gérard Depardieu, for example, resulted in the actor receiving ‘dix-huit mois de prison avec sursis’ (an 18-month suspended prison sentence). Sursis de peine is the full phrase for a suspended sentence.

As for the etymology, le sursis is the masculine noun from the verb surseoir (or the abbreviated sursoir) meaning to delay, postpone or defer. 

It might also be heard in the context of a deferred payment – un sursis de paiement.

Read more: Learning French: what does que dalle mean and when should it be used?

Sursoir comes from the Latin supersedere, itself a word used in Scottish law to mean “A halt or cessation of the process of law, specifically of an agreement among creditors or a decree of a court to suspend execution against a common debtor”.

Anyone convicted and condemned to a period in prison avec sursis is in contrast to those handed down a sentence of prison ferme. As in the UK, certain prisoners can also benefit from a period of ‘semi-liberté’ – ‘semi freedom’ aimed at preparing the person for a return to normal life, with gradual re-socialisation. 

This measure was first introduced into French law in the 1958 Code of Criminal Procedure. 

The other option prior to full release is ‘surveillance sous bracelet électronique’ (monitoring under electronic tag), as was the case with recent court rulings surrounding Marine Le Pen. It was formally called l’assignation à résidence avec surveillance électronique (ARSE), whereby the convict can only leave a certain place – ie. their home – under the conditions and for reasons set by the judge.