In ten days, it will be prison at home or in cells for the Balkany

The Balkany may find their electronic bracelet soon.

Unless justice decides to send them behind bars.

In any case, this will be decided by the Rouen Court of Appeal, which will make its decision at the beginning of next month after the hearing on Monday morning.

Before the Court of Appeal, the defense of Patrick and Isabelle Balkany pleaded the cancellation of the revocation of the placement under electronic surveillance of the Levallois couple, ordered a few weeks ago.

On December 17, the sentence enforcement court in Évreux (Eure) decided to revoke this measure, which allows convicted persons to serve their sentence at home rather than in prison.

They made the bracelets ring too much

It is under these conditions that, since March 2021, the Balkanys have been serving the three years of imprisonment pronounced on March 4, 2020 for tax evasion.

So at home, in Giverny (Eure), each with an ankle bracelet and permission to go out from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

They could consider asking for their parole, concretely the withdrawal of the bracelet, after a year, so next March.

But now, one and the other have rung the device dozens, even a hundred times.

Either because they were outside, or before, or after the authorized time, or because they left the perimeter defined for their “house arrest”.

It must be said that the perimeter in question is limited to the walls of their house.

Past the front door, it beeps in the service of the prison administration responsible for monitoring prisoners at home, and the incident is recorded.

So the penitentiary noted these dozens and dozens of beeps.

Without the interested parties necessarily being informed.

On the other hand, as soon as the bracelet rings for more than five minutes, they are called.

And of course it happened.

When Isabelle Balkany got stuck in a traffic jam between the supermarket and her home, according to those around her, or when the former mayor of Levallois broke down on the highway…

The postman, the dogs and the freezer

For the many incidents that went unnoticed by the Balkanys, it was because they went to the gate of the property to open it to a delivery man or the postman, because they ran after their dogs in the garden or because Isabelle goes back and forth between the house and the outbuilding that houses the freezers.

Until the Court of Appeal's decision is rendered on February 3, Patrick and Isabelle Balkany can move around as they please.

When justice revoked the placement under electronic monitoring in December, the bracelets were indeed immediately withdrawn from them.

Usually this measure results in immediate detention.

They escaped it but the Court of Appeal can decide otherwise.