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the essential
Presenter Stéphane Plaza, whose trial for violence against two ex-partners opens this Wednesday, will be absent from the hearing for reasons of “mental health”, his lawyers said. His trial has been postponed to January 2025.
Star TV host and real estate agent Stéphane Plaza, who was due to appear before the Paris judicial court on Wednesday for violence against two former partners, will be absent from the hearing for reasons of “mental health”.
The host’s trial was finally postponed to January 9, 2025 after hours of procedural examinations. “Although he wants to be present, we had to prioritize the preservation of his mental health,” explained one of his lawyers, Me Hélène Plumet, contacted by AFP.
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According to her, the presenter’s “clinical psychologist” “strongly advised him” not to go to court “given the risk of psychological breakdown linked to media pressure and the harassment and attempted blackmail he has recently suffered.”
“We are ready,” his lawyers assure
The hearing before the Paris Criminal Court is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. The presenter’s lawyers, Hélène Plumet and Carlo Alberto Brusa, plan to file two priority questions of constitutionality (QPC) as well as exceptions of nullity concerning procedural questions. If the court retains one or the other of the QPCs to transmit it to the Court of Cassation, the trial could be postponed to a later date.
Whatever happens, “we are ready,” assured Mr. Plumet, who intends to plead for his client’s acquittal if the QPC are not upheld.
Stéphane Plaza, 54, popularized by his various shows on M6, is being prosecuted for “habitual physical and/or psychological violence by a partner” between August 2018 and April 2022 against one of his former partners, as well as for “habitual psychological violence by a partner” against another woman between December 2021 and September 2022.
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Stéphane Plaza case: 4 questions about the trial of the famous real estate agent accused of domestic violence
Up to 10 years imprisonment
A total incapacity for work (ITT) of more than eight days was established for these two women, Amandine B. and Irma Paola R., following this violence. One of the QPC disputes the method of calculating the number of ITTs granted to the complainants. In the event of ITT of more than eight days, the defendant is liable to up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros. The penalty incurred is 5 years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros for ITT of less than eight days.
The presenter, under judicial supervision, denies the accusations made against him. During his police custody last March, he had “clearly reiterated that he was not violent, had not been and never would be,” his lawyers responded at the time. Stéphane Plaza was the victim of a “prejudicial investigation” by a “coalition of women,” Me Plumet told AFP.