the essential
The trial which opened on September 2 in Avignon is ending, with a verdict expected this Thursday. Juliette Campion, police/justice journalist at franceinfo, has covered the event on a daily basis for the past four months. For The Dispatchshe tells the story of this historic trial and confides in her feelings.
La Dépêche du Midi: You followed this trial for four months. Do you remember your first day in court? Can you tell us about the atmosphere in the room?
Juliette Campion, journalist at franceinfo : I arrived on September 5. Until I entered the courtroom, it seemed like a trial like any other. The media are there, there is a victim who is being machine-gunned with photos. But when I entered the room, when I saw all these men sitting, I first thought they were from the public. It took me several seconds to realize: all these men were in fact defendants. It was disturbing. I knew there were 51 co-defendants but I had not imagined what that represented, 51 men in a courtroom. We are struck by this vision and we become aware of the magnitude of the facts.
The first days gave the floor to the main accused, Dominique Pélicot. What was his attitude? Again, what were your first impressions?
The first time I see it, I’m not surprised. It looks like what I imagined. A fairly strong man, white hair, with a closed face. He is a man who speaks well, with a lot of vocabulary, who does not search for his words. He knows his file very well, he is sure of himself. After his first interrogation, he was more in a position of victimization. He talked a lot about the violence he suffered as a child. I don’t know if it was manipulation on his part, but I was quite affected by these stories and by this sentence he said: “We are not born perverse, we become one.” The abuse he suffered explains, for him, the behavior he subsequently exhibited.
Over the weeks, we discovered the profile of the co-defendants. What portrait can you draw of it?
They do not form a homogeneous mass. Physically they are different, they have divergent paths, their own way of expressing themselves. Some are defensive, speak little. Others are extremely talkative, even theatrical in their attitude and somewhat excessive.
However, there are overlaps. On the fact of having been, according to them, manipulated by Dominique Pélicot and for many, of not recognizing the facts of rape or at least the intention. The sometimes very painful journeys of certain defendants surprised me. Many of them suffered physical, verbal or sexual violence in childhood, had dysfunctional parents and suffered from alcoholism.
What was the moment that struck you the most?
The first testimony of Gisèle Pélicot on September 5. At that time, we had never heard it before. We didn’t know how she was going to express herself, how she was going to cope with this trial. Then she arrived. She stood very straight, looked relatively comfortable. She walked through the crowd with great dignity. Immediately, I noticed a certain charisma that makes people look at her. She had an obvious presence.
She then delivered a testimony lasting 1 hour 15 minutes, speaking in a very simple and natural manner with great calm and control over herself and her emotions. We were all impressed. She was very present during these four months. She always knew how to keep calm. Even when she was visibly annoyed, enduring words that were very complicated to hear, she held on.
How did you personally experience this trial?
Looking back, I realize that I had not mentally prepared myself for what I was going to hear and see. As a woman, the broadcast of the videos was obviously very difficult to take. The first ones in particular. It’s horrible to say that, but over time, you get used to it.
It wasn’t always easy to disconnect. In the evening, we have to write the report of the day so we take that with us. We don’t always sleep well. I won’t hide the fact that I’ve had some weird dreams. Afterwards, it’s our job so we put on our journalistic sneakers and we try to distance ourselves as best we can.
