At the Batignolles court, as in all the courthouses in France, black dresses are everywhere.
But the small room 4.03 has probably never hosted so many at the same time as on January 8, 2021. The case which was judged this Friday afternoon - before being interrupted in the evening - indeed takes its roots in a
" renowned law firm ”
in the Parisian market.
The defendant, represented by three counsel, is a lawyer himself, as are the witnesses and many members of the public.
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Alice P., Élodie P. and Rym K. joined as civil parties in the proceedings against Patrick T., a lawyer formerly a partner in this business firm.
The fifty-something is suspected of "voyeurism by someone abusing authority", in this case of having used his mobile phone to film under the skirts of three young women, intern for one and collaborators for the other two at the time of the alleged facts, in March 2014, August 2014 and August 2019, in his office.
"Completely stunned"
“I ran into [Patrick T.] in the kitchen, then I saw that he had sent me an email inviting me to join him. [...] I sat down in front of his desk, he asked me which master I was planning to integrate at the start of the school year, then he asked me to come and write it on his computer. I refused the first time, he insisted. I told myself I was going to do it even if I found it weird. I walked around the desk, he backed up in his chair. By the time I bend down, I heard the sound of the start of a video from an iPhone, ”
says Rym K. at the bar.
“I know this sound very well, I'm from Generation Z, I'm not mistaken about that. I turned around, saw him with his arms stretched out between my legs with his phone facing the ceiling, I was completely stunned. I shifted. When I heard the second sound at the end of the video, I pulled myself together. I said I had a call at 3 p.m. sharp. He told me not to hesitate to go back, ”
continues the former intern, who immediately confided in colleagues upon leaving the office.
"Lie"
"
This is wrong!"
, indignant Patrick T., who resigned from the firm in question in October 2019, shortly after the affair broke, and is now a partner in another Parisian structure.
“I challenge the facts in the strongest possible way.
I'm mad.
In this matter, of course, I am totally innocent.
The three plaintiffs are in the lie ”,
insists the fifties, married - to a lawyer - and father of two children.
At the helm are six collaborators - former or current - of the defendant, who all attest
"never to have noticed any inappropriate gesture"
at Patrick T.
"I worked 14 hours a day with him for 20 years.
I would have seen it!
", Underlines one of them, adding that she is"
deeply feminist
"and that she
" would not have stayed "
if she had noticed such behavior
.
Invited to react by the president, Alice P. replied:
"The question I still ask myself today is why me, why Rym, why Elodie and not the others?"
"Calumnies", "conspiracy", "rumor"
Several witnesses, as well as the defense, also evoke
"slander"
, believing that this
"rumor"
and these accusations would have served to damage the reputation of Patrick T., in the context of strong tensions between the two teams in social law of the firm concerned.
"Of course there [was] some kind of cabal against me!"
, insists the defendant, evoking a
"particularly hostile climate"
.
Removing this
"alleged plot"
with one sentence
, Rym K. launches in court:
"I have no intention of harming him.
It happened, I was sure, I still am. "
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To Me Jacqueline Laffont, one of the advice of Patrick T., who supports the young woman that it is impossible to see between her legs when turning around, the ex-trainee replies by mimicking the gesture mentioned:
"Maybe be that we do not have the same flexibility! ”
The room laughs, before laughing even more when the president launches into onomatopoeias to try to imitate the different noises made by an iPhone when receiving an email as well as when recording a video. .
Hearing postponed
The audience will definitely have mentioned Apple a lot.
Because a very technical debate ensues on the return of any files deleted by the accused.
Neither compromising photo nor video were found on his devices and on his Cloud, recalls Patrick T.
"There is a material element that is lacking, the capture of images"
, insists Me Jacqueline Laffont, one of the lawyers of the accused.
“No photo, no erasure!”
, adds his colleague Me Christian Charrière-Bournazel.
And it is finally the mark with the apple which will have been right of the trial of Patrick T. after eight hours of debates.
Indignant to see a document transmitted by the prosecution in full hearing, the defense requests additional information on the question of the possible deletion of photos or videos.
A request accepted by chamber 10-2 of the criminal court, which postpones the hearing to July 1, 2021. As the president himself summed up, tongue-in-cheek:
“The hearing is shattered”
.