The appeal trial of businessman Bernard Tapie in the controversial 2008 arbitration case has continued since Tuesday without him.
His lawyers who had requested medical dismissal are also absent.
The defense of Bernard Tapie, suffering from cancer, filed a request for postponement of the trial linked to a worsening of the state of health of the businessman which prevents him from being present.
The boss of the media group La Provence does not want his lawyers to represent him because he wants to express himself in this case which is the "fight of a lifetime", pleaded one of his lawyers, Me Hervé Temime.
According to him, his client, who has been present several times since the resumption of hearings on May 10, "tried to go as far as possible in the trial".
The treatments he will follow "are likely to allow him to participate in a new trial at a relatively close date," said Me Temime, asking that an expert report be ordered.
Bernard Tapie's "courage" hailed
With this request, joined the lawyers of Maurice Lantourne, a former counsel of Bernard Tapie and him warned.
"Me Lantourne's rights of defense would be seriously affected if the hearing were to continue without Mr. Tapie being present", declared Me Paul-Albert Iweins.
Like all parties, the general prosecutor's office praised the "courage" of the businessman "in the face of the disease".
He acknowledged a "very difficult situation" but called for further discussions, indicating that no referral could be possible before April 2022.
After a suspension, the Court of Appeal rejected these requests, "on the grounds that this referral would be contrary to the respect of the reasonable time to which the defendants are entitled".
The president notably justified her decision by stressing that Bernard Tapie had been heard during the investigation and during the trial.
"Very good, perfect, well bye," said Hervé Temime before leaving the room with his colleague, Julia Minkowski.
Me Temime told Agence France Presse on Tuesday evening that they had lodged an appeal against this decision, "contrary to the case law of the criminal chamber
(Editor's note: the Court of Cassation)
and the European Court of Rights of Man ”.
#BernardTapie trial: his lawyer Me Hervé Temime slammed the door of the court after the refusal of a new postponement.
He describes an "abnormal situation" and explains in # Cà Vous ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p0jiAcRBwS
- C to you / 6 at home (@ cavousf5) May 26, 2021
On BFMTV, Bernard Tapie's son, Laurent, said it was a “not human” decision.
At the microphone of RTL, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, a close friend of the businessman, indicated that it was "a little odd the decision of the president of the court but he (Bernard Tapie) is not there at all - in and as always with him, when there are new problems, he fights ”.
Relaxe in July 2019
Bernard Tapie's trial had already been postponed last October following a request from the businessman related to a deterioration in his state of health.
The former president of Olympique de Marseille and his five co-defendants, including Orange boss Stéphane Richard, had all been released in July 2019, before the prosecution decided to appeal.
Bernard Tapie is suspected in this case of having, with accomplices, "rigged" a private arbitration made in 2008 and supposed to put an end to his dispute with Credit Lyonnais.
This arbitration had concluded with a "fault" of the former public bank and granted to the businessman 403 million euros.
Since then, the sentence has been annulled in civil proceedings for "fraud" and Bernard Tapie was definitively ordered to reimburse the sums collected.
