Justice is a subject that Eric Dupond-Moretti, former Minister of Justice who served four years in this position and a lawyer in high-profile cases in the past, has mastered perfectly. He reacted to the Pélicot affair one day before we knew the verdict from the courts, the measured point of view of a man who knows the environment well.
All the cameras and microphones are focused on the Vaucluse criminal court this Thursday, December 19, 2024. Party to deliberate at 10:30 a.m. Monday morning, after three and a half months of hearing, justice will announce the fate that it has decided to reserve for these men aged 27 to 74, who came to sexually assault Gisèle Pelicot, previously sedated by her then husband, Dominique, at their home in Mazan, announces AFP. The couple’s three children, David, Caroline and Florian, arrived at the court together, pushing through a crowd of spectators, activists and journalists. Their mother Gisèle arrived separately and smiling a little later, accompanied by her two lawyers. The verdict is in : Dominique Pelicot is “found guilty” of aggravated rape on his ex-wife Gisèle after having drugged his ex-wife with anxiolytics for a decade before raping her and handing her over to dozens of strangers recruited on the internet. He was also convicted of recording and possessing images taken without their knowledge of his wife, daughter and daughters-in-lawadds AFP. Dominique Pelicot sentenced to maximum sentence of 20 years from prison. Finally, the Vaucluse criminal court declared all 50 of his co-defendants guilty.
This decision, in an Avignon courthouse under heavy police protection, was closely scrutinized, in France and abroad, as this trial caused a shock wave, since its opening on September 2, becoming emblematic of the questions around gender-based and sexual violence, chemical submission, consent and more broadly male-female relationships. A personality in the field, the lawyer, Bar tenor turned politician, Eric Dupond-Moretti gave his opinion, he who is so familiar with ultra-publicized cases like the Outreau trial – he defended the “baker” Roselyne Godard, whom he acquitted.
On the airwaves of France Inter the day before, the former Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti offered his point of view on the Mazan affair, after the apologies of the victim’s husband, Dominique Pelicot. “I am a little more circumspect about the demonstrations within the courthouse, he added. I experienced manifestations of hostility towards certain defendants. Sometimes supportive, too. Inside the courthouse, it bothers me. In front, why not. Elsewhere why not. Within the Palace, I have a small reserve.“
Eric Dupond-Moretti, the former Minister of Justice recognizes the impact of the Mazan trial
The civil partner of the Quebec singer Isabelle Boulay specifies, knowing that any discussion on the affair is hot: “I of course understand the support, the help, that we give to Gisèle Pelicot, who is a courageous woman, in the sense that it allowed this public debate. Deep down, she could avoid it. (…) It is an important trial because it allowed us to focus on a type of rape which is not necessarily the most common, chemical submission. This, indeed, allows us to become aware of one of the forms of non-consent, obviously.“
By asking that the trial not be held behind closed doors, Gisèle Pélicot succeeded in her challenge: to change sides of shame. Feminist movements were quick to make this mother of three children an icon. Among the striking images, those of the rapist’s wife, each day of the trial, crossing the hall of the courthouse to applause, guards of honor, and bouquets of flowers. A collective of women has also been singing in front of the Avignon courthouse since the start of the trial, in support of Gisèle Pelicot and all women victims of violence.
For now, Eric Dupond-Moretti has put away his lawyer’s robe and his minister’s costume, giving way to Didier Migaud for Justice. He preferred to put on his actor’s clothes since he is launching a new single on stage with “J’ai dit oui” at the Marigny theater in Paris from February 1, 2025. The father of two sons from a first union , nicknamed Acquittator must however follow with certain interest the outcome of the most publicized trial of 2024.
Original article on Purepeople
