Unsurprisingly, as the case had seemed wobbly during the trial of Patrick and Isabelle Balkany, the 14th correctional chamber of Nanterre has, this Tuesday afternoon, acquitted the spouses of Levallois-Perret in a miserable case of intimate photos. Images showing a man in a delicate position, supposed to represent David-Xavier Weiss, former deputy of Patrick Balkany and first deputy of the current mayor (LR), Agnès Pottier-Dumas.
During the trial, on April 4, where only Patrick Balkany appeared before the judges, the former mayor (LR) of Levallois had explained how he had recovered these few photos, first transmitted to his wife by someone whose name he did not give. And because he considered them "filthy" and considered it necessary to inform the one who succeeded him as mayor, Patrick Balkany sent them to Agnès Pottier-Dumas and two other recipients. This was in February 2021, a year after the Balkany were removed from their elected office, as a result of their conviction for tax fraud.
In the small world of Levallois, David-Xavier Weiss had not taken long to be informed of the existence of these photos and had filed a complaint in the wake for dissemination without the consent of the person of images of a sexual nature. This had launched the procedure against the Balkany.
The Balkanys' 'honour restored'
Then the applicant referred to a photomontage rather than images broadcast without his consent. The technical police analyzed the images but it was never shown that they were DIY photos. And to find the Balkany spouses guilty, it would have been necessary to demonstrate that it was indeed a photomontage. Two technical expertise was carried out and none decided for the photomontage. "This is the preliminary element, recalls the president of the 14th chamber in stating the judgment. The court considered that the photomontage is not proven. »
While acknowledging that the evidence was not provided, the prosecution had nevertheless requested a fine for the couple of Levallois, based on the statements of David-Xavier Weiss, who had withdrawn his complaint four days before the trial. Except that in order to eventually convict the Balkany couple for invasion of privacy, it would have been necessary, there, that the complaint not be withdrawn.
This makes Me Robin Binsard, who defends the Balkany spouses with Me Romain Dieudonné, say that "in this abracadabrantesque case, the criminal qualifications did not stand up".
"This decision is irreproachable in law," abounds Me Dieudonné. "This is a disavowal for the public prosecutor, who has continued against all common sense," adds Mr. Binsard, welcoming the fact that "the honour of [his] clients unjustly soiled has been restored."