what the actor risks

The actor appears this Wednesday, November 20 for “unintentional injuries” before the Melun judicial court. He faces up to 14 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 euros after the road accident in which three people were seriously injured.

It’s time for the trial for Pierre Palmade. The actor must be judged this Wednesday, November 20, from 9 a.m., for “unintentional injuries” before the Melun judicial court after the road accident he caused on February 10, 2023 in Villiers-en-Bière ( Seine-et-Marne). He faces a sentence of 14 years in prison.

On February 10, 2023, Pierre Palmade was driving a car, under the influence of drugs, which collided with another vehicle coming in front. Three people were seriously injured in this accident, besides the actor: Yuksel Yakut, his six-year-old son Devrim and Mila, his sister-in-law who was six and a half months pregnant. She lost her child in the collision.

• What penalty does Pierre Palmade incur?

Pierre Palmade is being prosecuted for involuntary injuries with two aggravating circumstances – the use of narcotics and the breach of an obligation of prudence and safety – “with ITT of more than three months”, recalls Me Antoine Régley, lawyer specializing in road law, from BFMTV.com. “He risks seven years in prison, which we multiply by two because of his repeat offense.”

Pierre Palmade has in fact already been convicted in 2019 for drug use. He therefore faces 14 years in prison and a fine of 200,000 euros.

This sentence may be accompanied by a total suspension, a simple suspension or a probationary suspension. “That is to say, if you respect the obligations that the court sets for you, in particular care, the sentence will remain suspended,” explains Me Antoine Régley. “But, if you do not follow the care that we recommend you to take, in this case, the sentence falls and you go to prison.”

• Why was manslaughter ruled out?

The legal risk could have been even heavier for Pierre Palmade. Indeed, on February 10, 2023, a 27-year-old young woman, six and a half months pregnant, lost the child she was expecting in a collision with her car.

An expert report concluded that the baby carried by the passenger, who underwent a cesarean section following the accident, had died before giving birth, and could therefore not legally be considered a human person.

“At no time between the time of birth and the time of declared death was there spontaneous breathing, nor active movement of the body”, could we read in the conclusions of this expertise, carried out by three doctors and consulted by BFMTV. Thus, “the child is viable, but not alive at birth.” According to experts, however, there is a direct and certain causal link between the accident and the in utero death of the child.

The Melun public prosecutor’s office had nevertheless requested the dismissal of Pierre Palmade for “involuntary manslaughter” and involuntary injuries before the court. A decision that goes against the grain of the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation which ruled on this subject several times in the early 2000s: in criminal law, the fetus cannot be considered as a legal person, its death cannot can therefore be blamed on anyone.

The investigating judge finally resolved this legal question by dismissing Pierre Palmade for “unintentional injuries by a driver who deliberately violated a particular obligation of caution or safety and who used narcotics”. A “scandalous” decision for Me Mourad Battikh, the victims’ lawyer, interviewed by RTL on Sunday, a few days before the trial.

If manslaughter had been retained, the maximum sentence would not have been seven but ten years in prison. “And it would have been multiplied by two due to repeat offenses, he would have faced 20 years in prison,” analyzes Me Antoine Régley.

• Is requalification possible?

Mourad Battikh, lawyer for the civil parties, plans to re-question the court on this point during the hearing. But Antoine Régley assures that requalification is impossible “for two reasons”. “The court was seized after an instruction was issued, and they ruled out the question of involuntary manslaughter,” recalls the road law lawyer.

“Supposing that the requalification is nevertheless included in the debates”, since involuntary manslaughter is more serious than unintentional injuries, “Pierre Palmade would have to agree to appear for this new qualification”, explains Me Antoine Régley . “Obviously, and understandably, he will say no.”

• Will Pierre Palmade go to prison?

In this type of case, detention is rather an exception. “There are trials for aggravated involuntary injuries every day in the courts,” recalls Me Antoine Régley. “If there are 5% of people who go into detention, that’s the maximum.”

But in the case of the comedian, his notoriety could work against him. “I think he will be judged more harshly,” believes the lawyer, who evokes a recent publicized example: the trial of the driver who caused the death of Antoine Alléno, son of the famous three-star chef Yannick Alléno. “Eight years in prison were requested against himthese are sentences that I have never heard in 14 years of career for cases of homicide or involuntary injuries,” he notes.

If Pierre Palmade is sentenced to a prison sentence of more than one year, he should “go to detention if the sentence is final”, continues the lawyer. Below that, the sentence could be enhanced with an electronic bracelet. Note that the comedian will have ten days to appeal the decision.