DIRECT. Trial of Pierre Palmade: “I believe in justice, I hope there will be no indifference”, declares the mother who lost her baby

A collective supporting road accident victims in court

The hearing is about to resume. In front of the Melun criminal court, a support group for victims of road accidents has pitched its tent.

The court hears Michel, 87 years old, involved in the accident

The octogenarian had, in an accident, hit the two damaged cars on the evening of the tragedy, on the Seine-et-Marne departmental road.

Mila, the mother who lost her child, is called to the stand to testify

The young woman had lost her 6 and a half month old baby in the accident. She gave birth to a baby girl 2 months ago. Impressed and in tears at the stand, she says: “It’s very difficult. “I was not able to become attached to my child during pregnancy…”

The driver hit by Pierre Palmade: “The doctors told me that I won’t be able to go back to the way I was before”

The father describes at length his after-effects and those of his son who was in the back of the car. He underwent 171 days of ITT, 6 operations, a hip replacement and plates in one leg. Questioned by his lawyer, he explains: “I can’t even carry my child anymore. It’s very complicated. I can’t. It’s very difficult for me…” This employee worked in construction. How does he see the future? “I try not to think about that kind of thing,” he replies when questioned by his lawyer.

The driver of the vehicle hit by Pierre Palmade will be questioned

Yuksel Yakut approaches the bar on crutches, a chair is brought for him so that he can sit down. This 38-year-old man was driving the vehicle hit head-on by Pierre Palmade in February 2023.

What the medical expertise said about the dead baby

“The clinical state observed in the child immediately after its extraction from the maternal uterine body is clearly and indisputably that of a state of constituted death. No motor reactivity, no spontaneous reflex breathing movement.”

The lawyer for the civil parties addresses the court: “I solemnly ask you to change this case law!”

He asks the court to convict Pierre Palmade of manslaughter.

The baby who died in the accident should have been named Solin

The lawyer for the civil parties, Me Mourad Battikh, continues: “We know today that this child – Solin since that is the name chosen by his parents – was viable at the time of the accident. Viability is 22 weeks and 500 g, according to WHO criteria [Organisation mondiale de la santé]. Mila was at 27 weeks and 1080 g”, he explains. For the lawyer, this is an “absurd case law which was defined by the Court of Cassation”. “A no man’s land” , “a hole in the racket”, “a legal void”. The lawyer regrets that French law “protects animals better than unborn children”.

Victims’ lawyer addresses status of baby who died in crash

The lawyer for the civil parties, Me Mourad Battikh, takes the floor to discuss the legal status of the child that the pregnant woman, sitting at the front of the hit vehicle, lost in the accident. The fetus who died in the accident is not considered a person, according to consistent case law from the Court of Cassation. It is for this reason that Pierre Palmade is being prosecuted for intentional injury and not manslaughter.

Pierre Palmade speaks in a broken and hoarse voice

Called to the stand at the opening of the hearing before the criminal court, he stated his identity in a small voice. “I am Pierre Palmade and I was born on March 23, 68 in Bordeaux”.

Pierre Palmade appears with a pale complexion and a blank look.

Pierre Palmade is sitting on the dock between his lawyers, pale complexion, sunken face, staring into space, wearing a black jacket over a white shirt.

Black jacket, white shirt, Pierre Palmade awaits the opening of his trial

The hearing is slow to begin.

The victims’ family arrived in court

Yuksel Yakut is the man who was driving the car hit head-on by Pierre Palmade with his vehicle. The thirty-year-old had suffered multiple trauma. Her son was in the back, her sister-in-law in the front of the vehicle.

Pierre Palmade arrived in court by taxi

The comedian is present at his trial as his lawyers had suggested. He entered through a back door of the courthouse to escape photographers.

The lawyer of the family of the accident wants a conviction of Pierre Palmade for involuntary homicide

The victims’ lawyer adds that he intends to ask that Pierre Palmade be sentenced for “involuntary manslaughter”, and not only for “involuntary injuries”. During the accident, the injured mother lost the baby she was carrying. The judge did not accept the charge of involuntary homicide concerning the fetus, because, according to consistent case law of the Court of Cassation, a child does not exist as a legal person until it is born. .

Victims “physically and psychologically very affected”

The lawyer for the family victim of the accident caused by Pierre Palmade spoke this morning on franceinfo, just before the opening of the trial. His clients are “physically and psychologically still very affected,” he says. The 6-year-old boy became a “withdrawn”, “isolated” child, his scars on his face and skull remaining very visible.

Pierre Palmade, itinerary of a man in free fall

The drama, caused by Pierre Palmade and widely publicized, shed harsh light on his drug addictions for many years. His portrait can be read below.

Also read:
PORTRAIT. Trial of Pierre Palmade: “What a waste…” Itinerary of a man in free fall

Why is Pierre Palmade being tried for involuntary injuries?

The investigating judge sent Pierre Palmade back to the Melun criminal court at the end of May on the sole charge of involuntary injuries, aggravated by the use of drugs. She did not retain the qualification of involuntary homicide, which the prosecution had requested for the loss of the fetus. Following the accident, the baby was urgently extracted by cesarean section from his mother’s womb at six months of pregnancy, but declared dead after 32 minutes of resuscitation, without having given any sign of extra-uterine life. However, according to consistent case law from the Court of Cassation, a child who is not born alive does not exist as a legal person.

3 things to know before the trial

We summarize what you need to know before the trial opens at 9 a.m. at the Melun judicial court.

Also read:
Trial of Pierre Palmade: “unintentional injuries” and not “homicide”, anger of the victims, penalty incurred… Three information to remember about the case

What does Pierre Palmade risk?

Pierre Palmade faces a sentence of 14 years in prison and a fine of €200,000. At the time of the accident, he was a repeat offender, having already been convicted, in the summer of 2019, for “use and acquisition” of drugs in Paris.

The young woman who lost her baby: “It’s going to be very hard”

Mila, the 27-year-old passenger who lost her 6 and a half month old baby in the accident, remains fragile. “I don’t yet know if I will have the strength to speak during the hearing,” she told RMC. “It’s going to be very hard. I still can’t talk about it, even think about it, without crying.” She only expects one thing: “That the sanction will be commensurate with what Pierre Palmade did to me, and the consequences which still crush us today.”DI

Also read:
Trial of Pierre Palmade: “I still can’t think about it without crying…” The mother who lost her baby in the accident speaks

Who are the victims of Pierre Palmade?

The Renault Megane hit head-on by Pierre Palmade was driven by Yuksel Y., a 38-year-old father. Her sister-in-law, Mila C. 27, was in the front. 6 months pregnant, she lost her fetus. She was never able to return to her job as a school assistant. In the back, there was Yuksel’s 6-year-old son, who did not have a booster seat. Yuksel suffered multiple trauma, Mila suffered a detached shoulder blade and the little boy suffered significant head and facial trauma.

Will Pierre Palmade be present at his trial?

Pierre Palmade will be present for his trial at the Melun judicial court. His lawyers did not wish to speak before their client’s trial.

A trial for Pierre Palmade, a year and a half after the accident

Pierre Palmade is on trial for having caused serious injuries to three people, during a road accident, on February 10, 2023, on a departmental road south of Melun in Seine-et-Marne. The comedian’s Peugeot 3008 had collided head-on with a Renault Megane which was arriving opposite with a family on board. Pierre Palmade was drugged behind the wheel, cocaine and 3-MMC. The actor has been addicted to various narcotics for many years.

Welcome to our live

Follow the trial of comedian Pierre Palmade live all day long for involuntary injuries before the Melun judicial court.