At the heart of a political scandal with twists and turns, the former project manager of the Élysée Alexandre Benalla is retried from Friday January 27 for violence during May 1, 2018, which had earned him a year in prison. first case.
The hearing could however be postponed, because the 31-year-old young man, now converted into the private sector, will file a request for dismissal for
"personal reasons"
, one of his lawyers, Jacqueline Laffont, told AFP. .
Alexandre Benalla is accused of having molested three men and two women while trying to arrest them on the sidelines of the May 1, 2018 demonstration in Paris, wearing a police helmet, while he was only attending the parade. as an
“observer”
.
The “Benallagate” broke out on July 18, 2018, after his identification by the newspaper
Le Monde
on a video where he brutalized a couple on the Place de la Contrescarpe.
The 26-year-old at the heart of the President of the Republic's security system had been suspended for 15 days, but still had an office at the "Château", revealed the daily.
The article had triggered a political earthquake, the aftershocks of which had shaken Emmanuel Macron's power for months, to the rhythm of press revelations and hearings before parliamentary committees.
Read alsoThe Benalla affair, the story of a fall that shook the state
Alexandre Benalla will also have to answer again before the Court of Appeal for
"forgery, use of forgery in writing and public use without the right to a badge"
for having continued to travel with diplomatic passports after his dismissal from the Élysée.
He also held a service passport obtained fraudulently according to the prosecution.
The former close collaborator of the President of the Republic is finally being accused of having illegally carried a handgun in 2017.
At first instance, he had been sentenced to three years in prison, including a firm one, under an electronic bracelet, a ban on holding public employment for five years and a ban on carrying a weapon for ten years.
At the hearing, he had denied almost all of the charges, claiming to have acted
“by reflex”
citizen, but not hesitating
“to give absurd and irresponsible explanations”
, according to the judgment of the Paris Criminal Court.
To read alsoAlexandre Benalla, this "without rank" who was authoritative
His sidekick Vincent Crase, at the time in charge of security at the En Marche party (now Renaissance), will also appear again on the bench of the defendants for “violence in meetings”, “prohibited wearing” of a telescopic baton and “interference in a public office” for illegally participating in the arrest of three people.
He is also accused of having forced one of these people to erase a video taken with his mobile phone.
A long-time friend of Alexandre Benalla, the 49-year-old reservist ex-gendarme had been sentenced at first instance to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a ban on carrying a weapon.
"He acted to protect public order and therefore he will seek his release,"
his lawyer, Robin Binsard, told AFP.
The other two defendants in the first trial did not appeal.
They are former officials of the Paris police headquarters, one sentenced to a three-month suspended prison sentence and the other to a fine of 5,000 euros for having transmitted video surveillance images to Alexandre Benalla on the evening of publication of the article in
Le Monde
.
Read alsoAlexandre Benalla, an “observer” in defiance of the rules
In addition to the five alleged victims of the violence in the meeting, two police unions have joined as civil parties, as well as the former chief of staff of the Élysée François-Xavier Lauch and the author of the May 1 video, the journalist and activist Taha Bouhafs, whose civil action had been deemed inadmissible at first instance.
Alexandra Benalla is the subject of three other preliminary investigations.
One concerns his role in signing contracts with Russian oligarchs while he was in office at the Élysée.
Another, opened in February 2019 for "obstructing the manifestation of the truth", aims to determine whether Alexandre Benalla concealed evidence as part of the investigation into the violence of May 1, 2018, in particular two safes.
The third, launched in April 2019, relates to suspicions of “false testimony” by Benalla and Crase before the Senate committee of inquiry into the case.
The trial is scheduled to last until February 3, over four half-days.
