NARRATIVE – This trial and its terrible outcome are part of M’s memories.e Jean-Yves Moyart, alias Maître Mô. A lawyer with a sensitive pen, now deceased.
Reality is always stronger than fiction. Daniel Auteuil’s latest film, The Thread is no exception to this rule. The actor plays Me Monier, a lawyer convinced of his client’s innocence. A fictional character, behind which, however, the features of M are hidden.e Jean-Yves Moyart. A true story, told in his time by this Lille lawyer with a sensitive pen, who suddenly passed away in 2021, at the age of 53.
Nelly Auteuil, the co-producer, remembers very well her first impressions when she discovered the text: « It was a story as incredible as it was chilling. I found it particularly cinematic. As I read it, I saw the scenes in my head… » She showed it to her father Daniel Auteuil, who had the same crush, and started an adaptation. However, nothing suggested that this story, published on the Internet in June 2011 by a criminal lawyer unknown to the general public, would one day become the chapter of a book, then a film presented in a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
A storyteller
It all started in Lille in 2008. Me Jean-Yves Moyart has been working as a lawyer for around fifteen years. « He was a criminal justice stoker, not a star of the bar.recalls his former friend and criminal lawyer Éric Morain. But he had a heart bigger than ours. He always had attention for everyone, and especially for his customers. He didn’t count his hours or his money. ».
The fashion then was for blogs, these personal online journals. « Many people started writingrecalls the editor Laurent Beccaria. Especially people like Me Moyart, who would probably never have thought of writing otherwise. » Under the pseudonym of Maître Mô, the lawyer decides to tell his daily life in a blog, taking care to modify the names and dates, so that his clients are not recognized. A form of outlet and a way to express his feelings. « He didn’t do this to be read at first. »says Eric Morain. However, the number of visits quickly goes crazy. Because the man has a real talent for writing. « Criminal lawyers often put themselves on stage; he told his story with a lot of self-mockery. He expressed his fears, his doubts. He liked to say that he was a storyteller. », Morain continues.
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Twitter @JYMoyart
First published in June 2011, the text In the Ambushnamed after a bar at the heart of a sordid legal affair, attracted hundreds of comments online at the time. The Lillois tells the story of Ahmed, a father of six accused of the murder of his wife Geneviève. But the evidence is thin, if not non-existent. He is tasked with defending him. « It is one thing to plead for an acquittal (…); it is quite another to be the lawyer for a man whose innocence you are absolutely convinced of. »writes “Master Mô” in the preamble, before describing the facts, the trial… and its terrible outcome.
« I knew right away when I read it at the time, without even knowing him, that I was not dealing with an imposter. Because only a real lawyer can talk like that about this profession, remembers Me Eolas, also a criminal lawyer and blogger. He always managed to see the human being behind the horror of the facts. Reading it, it seemed easy: I can assure you that it is absolutely not the case. »
A procession of lawyers
In November 2011, Me Moyart published a first collection, bringing together several of his short stories including In the Ambushpublished by La Table Ronde. A nice critical success: the book sold 4,000 copies. Other texts followed on his blog, as well as numerous exchanges via the social network Twitter (now X). It must be said that the man is also a bon vivant, with a smile as wide as his ears: « In court, when he put on his robe, he was a monk: serious and rigorous. But outside, he was more Rabelais! Champagne – and the good stuff – was his favorite drink. When the work was finished, it was a “coupette”: his way of letting off steam. »remembers M.e Information.
Jean-Yves Moyart was a figure for a whole generation of young lawyers
Morgane Boucher
Behind this good nature, Jean-Yves Moyart was nevertheless caught up by cancer, which he fought against for several years. « He didn’t talk about it, or very little. That’s why his death upset us so much. » explains Éric Morain. The Lille native died in February 2021, at only 53 years old, reluctantly leaving his partner and three children, whom he sometimes spoke of with tenderness in his texts. During his funeral, organized during a period of health restrictions due to Covid, a procession of lawyers accompanied his coffin to the cemetery. « Some of his clients were even there, I had never seen that in my life! »says Morgane Boucher, a former lawyer and now legal director. « We mourned him a lot, which he would not have liked. »adds Éric Morain with emotion.
Eric Morain
“Do not betray his memory”
The story, however, does not end there. What happens next is a « happy friendly conspiracy », in the words of Laurent Beccaria. Learning that the book was out of print, the latter contacted his relatives, and offered to republish it with unpublished material*, giving all the royalties to his family. « We are now at almost 24,000 copies sold, which is incredible! »
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At the same time, Nelly Auteuil also calls the friends of the missing lawyer: « My father Daniel and I had been looking for a subject to work on together for a long time. We had Jean-Yves Moyart’s friends reread the script, so as not to betray his memory. » Although the film respects the framework of the story, the Auteuils and their teams nevertheless decide to take some liberties: « The story does not take place in the same place and the main character is very different from Master Mô’s personality, even though he drives the same type of car, she laughs. On the other hand, we did our utmost to respect the legal facts. For us, it was important that the lawyers did not feel betrayed either. » From this a film is born, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, and in cinemas this week.
« I like to say that in the end, it’s simply the story of a lawyer who made a blog. »smiles Eric Morain. « Jean-Yves was a figure for a whole generation of young lawyers, of which I am a part.underlines Morgane Boucher. He embodied the nobility of this profession. I hope that continues. »
* « Master Mô’s book », 351p., Collection Proche, 8,90€.
