Yassine Bouzrou has been in the spotlight since he became the lawyer for Piotr Pavlenski, in what is known as the Griveaux case. He is not afraid of being in the light. At 40, penetrating eyes, telegenic charisma and always impeccable costumes, the penalist is an assumed child of the suburbs. Born in Bezons (Val-d'Oise), he grew up in Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine). This dashing quadra, who likes to "manage his image", is already an old driver of the judicial scene. A size itself, but which does not come from the seraglio.
The one who attended three colleges and three high schools before obtaining his baccalaureate had an epiphany once arrived at the faculty of Assas (Paris II), where he had decided to quench a "passion for justice", born a few years ago. "I was a bit of a dunce and I became a good student," he laughs when asked about his career. “I spent more time in court than in an amphitheater. I attended the pleadings of great penalists who marked me. I immediately found this fascinating universe, ”he says.
"Great freedom and independence"
The student Bouzrou works hard and obtains his diplomas and his bar by already having Chimène's eyes for the "penal". At the end of his studies, he joined the firm of Jean-Yves Liénard, a great criminal lawyer, for an internship, who saw him "at a glance". He learned the basics of his profession there before joining another large law firm, that of lawyers Jean-Yves Le Borgne and Christian Saint-Palais, who had fond memories of it. "I immediately perceived great freedom and independence in him," says the current president of the association of criminal lawyers.
According to his mentor, his atypical career, led by the LCI chain on Thursday, is one of the reasons for his success. “This is what gives him the foundation to be a good lawyer. He has had many experiences. So many meetings that allow him to better understand criminal cases. His strength is there, ”says the brilliant criminal lawyer of his former intern. "When it started, many hoped that it would break its face, these detractors were disappointed," smiles Christian Saint-Palais again.
He opens his cabinet day of his swearing
Always in frequent contact, the two men continue to chat, but always under the regime of Vouvoie. “It is not a hothead. He knows how to stop to think, to ask for advice. It is the mark of a good lawyer: a true strategist and that is essential ”, confides his colleague again. "He immediately started working for himself, a very perilous choice, a courageous choice", underlines Christian Saint-Palais. Yassine Bouzrou opens his office on October 25, 2007, the day he takes his oath. His first case immediately got him started: the Abou Bakari Tandia case, an undocumented migrant who fell into a coma and died after being taken into police custody at the Courbevoie police station in January 2004.
"I was given a file before taking the oath. I had a lot of time, I worked a lot of it. Unfortunately, there was a dismissal, but this highly publicized dossier made me known and allowed me to develop my clientele. Word of mouth allowed me to recover a certain number of small files, where I could exercise my passion for the criminal procedure ", explains the lawyer, who also intervened in the case of the crash of Rio -Paris and pleaded at the trial of the barbarian gang.
"I am anti-police who commit illegitimate violence"
We also find him in the Zahia case or as counsel to Tariq Ramadan, whom he ended up leaving on his own. "I don't like the label of media lawyer, but I did deal with media files", underlines Yassine Bouzrou, always frank about the collar. He does not like to be put in a box and claims his eclecticism. "I am not anti-police, as some have said. I am anti-police who commit illegitimate violence ", decrypts the council whose cabinet is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, where it operates with its indispensable partner Julie Granier.
His talent as a courtroom builder is recognized even among his opponents. In police circles, he is nicknamed “the procedural ace”. A commissioner even wrote to him one day to say how much he appreciated his "formidable and precise defense, which nevertheless never failed to respect the families of the victims, in memory of our two colleagues and the police force".
"I wish there were only Me Bouzrou," compliments one of his fiercest opponents, Me Laurent-Frank Liénard, lawyer for the gendarmes in the Adama Traoré case, where he officiates for the family of this latest. Such fair play is rare between people of dress. “It's very nice to be against him. He is very elegant in his defense. He is courteous and never makes low blows or roundabouts, ”adds his colleague, who often defends the representatives of the police.
"He has a look that can be very cruel on the job and on colleagues"
Would Me Bouzrou be perfect? The lawyer of the Russian activist Piotr Pavlenski, who shook up the Parisian municipal election, is human. This admirer of Jacques Vergès and James Brown also has faults. “He communicates a lot and not always wisely. He sometimes communicated partial information to the press. This is the only flaw that can be criticized. It is the lawyer's job to pull the blanket, but in this regard, it is not flawless, ”says Me Liénard. "He has a look which can be very cruel on the profession and colleagues. He is very excessive sometimes but he knows it, ”analyzes Christian Saint-Palais, also emphasizing his allergy to hierarchy in general.
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"Yes, I always had a problem with the hierarchy. I could not have blossomed in another profession, I am too free and frank ”, admits Yassine Bouzrou, who does not like to share a file with a colleague. "I was able to have strained relations with the investigating magistrates," also admits the lawyer. “I never compromise even if sometimes it poses some difficulties. I can be very excessive both in friendship and in work. It's a real flaw. If I believe that someone betrayed me once it is finished forever ", specifies the one who also defends the Police Vigie union, very to the left and fiercely opposed to the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner
"To bear the pressure of criminal law, it is important to do something else," says the father of two. A lover of French rap, he remains discreet about his tastes so as not to offend his clients like Lacrim or Seth Gueko. "Les Misérables" is the last film he has seen in theaters, and his favorite series are "Le Bureau des Légendes" and "Gomorra".
There is a cliché that he accepts about himself, that of the successful suburban child who loves sports cars. A passion that he lives as guilty pleasure and that he satisfies on the many circuits of the Paris region.
Speed and power, qualities that were that of the idol of his childhood, the Croatian striker Alen Bokšić, European champion 1993 with the Olympique de Marseille. "We were more OM than PSG in the suburbs in my time," laughs the former top scorer of the Hauts-de-Seine in the young category, who has long practiced in Courbevoie and the ACBB. A title he is almost more proud of than his victories in the courtroom.
