Yves Milla, a former border police major (PAF) prosecuted for violence against his ex-wife and children, was acquitted Thursday by the Metz Court of Appeal.
During the hearing on March 15, the prosecution requested the same sentence as at first instance: in July 2023, Mr. Milla was sentenced by the criminal court of Thionville (Moselle) to 18 months in prison with a probationary suspension of two years as well as the withdrawal of parental authority.
“Stunning decision”
“We were at an impasse
,” explained the president of the court to the victim when the decision was announced.
“We did not find any elements in the presentation of the procedure that could corroborate one version or the other
,” she said. For the court, it is therefore only a
“serious and serious conflict in the exercise of parental authority”
.
“It’s a mind-blowing decision
,” protested LFI MP Charlotte Leduc, who came to support the victim.
“It is a very bad message that French justice is sending to discourage police wives and their children from filing complaints. It says to others: don’t even try!”
.
“French justice could say to this little 13-year-old boy: We believe you, we will do you justice, and they did not do it. If he were to commit an irreparable act, justice will be responsible
,” also pointed out a representative of the SOS Civil Servants Victimes association.
The Milla affair is not yet over:
“We learned at the hearing that a judicial investigation for rape was currently open
,” underlined the president of the court of appeal. During the hearing on March 15, which lasted nearly seven and a half hours, the attorney general confirmed that the Thionville public prosecutor's office had opened a judicial investigation for alleged acts of rape against the ex-wife.
“Rough and strict education”
Before the appeal trial, the boss of the Unsa-Police union, Olivier Varlet, had also been singled out by the online media Streetpress for having allegedly
“covered”
Yves Milla, former Unsa delegate in the East and presented as his
“best friend"
. Quoted by the defense at the trial, Mr. Varlet maintained on the contrary that he had
“never”
sought to defend the former major in the PAF.
“My firm conviction is that it is not possible”
that he was violent, he added, referring however to Mr. Milla’s
“spiked helmet education”
with his children.
Yves Milla, currently stationed at the Directorate of Human Resources, Finance and Support (DRHFS), had
“entirely”
refuted the alleged facts, just conceding a
“rough and strict education with (his) sons”
.