“ethics” investigation opened into insulting comments by a lawyer

“Hysterics”, “bad mouth” : the Lyon bar indicated on Friday December 20 that it had opened an investigation “ethical” on insulting remarks addressed to feminists by the lawyer of one of the accused following the Mazan rape trial.

“Every lawyer is 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.

“My client has a message for you: shit!”

Registered with the Lyon bar, he defended one of the 51 accused in the trial of the rapes inflicted over ten years on Gisèle Pelicot, drugged with anxiolytics by her husband, Dominique Pelicot. On Thursday, his client was 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 ill-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 just waiting for one thing, for the guillotine to fall.”

“Indeed I called them knitters but not all women, far from it”he said, denying any «provocation» but castigating activists who “create a buzz” et “are in hatred.”

Accusations of misogyny

This did not prevent criticism from flourishing on social networks, accusing the lawyer of misogyny. On X, the rebellious deputy Sébastien Delogu thus condemned comments “unacceptable” and asked “appropriate disciplinary measures”.

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 Pelicot, 72, received the heaviest sentence for drugging his wife for a decade and delivering her to men recruited on the internet.