Tribunal de Lens

This afternoon, all of the students in Premier who take Political Science spent the second half of the afternoon at the courthouse in Lens.
When we stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the courthouse's ordinary doors, I immediately noticed two scary looking men loitering near us. With 12o'clock shadows, torn jackets, hands black from dirt or oil, dirty motorbikes, and cigarettes dangling from their lips, they practically defined the word, "sketchy." Then I heard them speak. I don't know, maybe it's because I have grown up listening to guys talk about how French is a language for wimps, but it just does not intimidate me at all. Therefore, those two guys lost most of their frightening force when they opened their mouths. However, shortly after, a silent man wearing handcuffs passed by us, and the nervousness returned.
The trials were fascinating. We saw four or five. I must say, though, punishment in France seems to me not very severe. All of the cases we watched regarded either violent abuse or theft, and the highest penalty was a fine of 550 Euros to the man wearing handcuffs.