Définition
When a misdemeanour is punished by a prison sentence, the court may choose, instead of imprisonment, to order the convicted person to carry out unpaid work for a public corporate body or an accredited association, for a duration of between 40 and 210 hours. Whether handed down as the main sentence or as one of the terms of a suspended sentence, community service is intended, like probation, to favour the reintegration of the convicted person by avoiding short prison terms. The convicted person performs unpaid work of a duration of between 40 and 240 hours for a public authority, a public institution or an association