“Come on, knitters!” The remarks made by a lawyer at the end of the Mazan rape trial, towards feminist activists, provoked strong reactions, while an ethics investigation was opened against him.
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After the announcement of the verdict in the Mazan rape trial on Thursday, December 19, the scene was shocking, and the video went around social networks. We see Christophe Bruschi, the lawyer for one of the 51 accused, speaking to supporters of Gisèle Pelicot, outside the Avignon courthouse, calling them “hysterical”“bad mouth“The Lyon bar indicated to AFP on Friday, December 20, that it had opened an investigation.”ethical“, following these public statements.
“All lawyers are subject to ethical rules of which the President is the guarantor.declared the professional order of lawyers, explaining that it had received reports from an individual and a lawyer concerning the comments made the day before by Me Christophe Bruschi. Registered with the Lyon bar, the latter defended one of the 51 accused, Joseph C., sentenced to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, the lightest sentence handed down by the Vaucluse criminal court.
“My client has a message for you, to all these hysterics, these bad mouthed people, the message is shit! That's it, but with a smile“, he said as he left the court where feminist activists had gathered.“Come on, knitters!“, he added to boos, according to images captured by numerous journalists. Me Bruschi then clarified that he had used this term in reference to women who, during the French Revolution, “were sitting in front of the guillotine, knitting and waiting for only one thing, for the guillotine to fall.”
“Indeed, I called them knitters, but not all women, far from it“, he said, denying everything “provocation” but castigating activists who “are creating a buzz” et “are in hatred.”
This did not prevent criticism from flourishing on social networks, accusing the lawyer of misogyny. On X, the rebellious Marseille deputy Sébastien Delogu thus condemned the remarks “unacceptable” and requested “appropriate disciplinary measures“against this lawyer who”shames France“.
After four months of a trial that became a symbol of violence against women, the courts declared all the accused guilty and handed down sentences of three to twenty years in prison. Dominique Pélicot, 72, received the heaviest sentence for drugging his wife for a decade and delivering her to men recruited on the internet.
Article written with AFP
