“A blank page on which everyone projects their fantasies,” said the former Nantes prosecutor

Ten years ago, almost to the day, the Dupont de Ligonnès family suddenly disappeared in Nantes. The lifeless bodies of Agnes and her four children will be found buried under the terrace of the family home on April 21, 2011. The father is still missing. Xavier Ronsin was the Nantes prosecutor at the time of the five-fold assassination. The one who became director of the national school of the magistracy then first president of the court of appeal of Rennes agreed to return to one of the biggest French criminal cases, certainly among the most media. Interview.

Do you often think of the Dupont de Ligonnès affair?

Undoubtedly, it would be impossible for me to forget it. I have been receiving Google Alerts on the subject almost every week for the past 10 years and the countless articles published, the excitement around the Scottish fiasco or the craze around special issues of a magazine last summer show a sustained interest, and which does not calm down, the media and the public.

How do you explain this craze?

I think that this drama, which takes place within a cocoon supposed to be protective, that of the family, deeply disturbs everyone and recalls this evidence that we also see in cases of incest: the author of “Evil May have a familiar face, and be “good in every way.” This story is also a blank page on which everyone projects their fantasies and the absence of discovery by Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès obviously constitutes an “inexhaustible tap of stories” and “incredible sequels” as in a television series where everyone is waiting for the next one. episode.

Why is this criminal case exceptional?

There is always a bit of exaggeration or sufficiency when you are an investigator, prosecutor, judge or lawyer to claim that the case you are dealing with is exceptional. Personally I am wary of all these qualifiers. However, this case is out of the ordinary because four children and their mother were murdered, the suspect, admittedly presumed innocent, is the father and the husband and that, unlike many family tragedies, this suspect did not appear. committed suicide immediately or within hours. What is exceptional is the extraordinary emulation, especially on social networks, of all those who sought to give an explanation to this appalling tragedy, to provide biographical elements on the family, including by searching blogs or spaces. of intimate discussions, then to discover Xavier de Ligonnès in the most improbable places of the world. This criminal case was the door open to many fantasies and, unfortunately, most often without any regard for the families and friends of the victims whose ordeal I have been pitying for 10 years over the “revelations” and multiple birthdays. Look for example at the number of articles on the
sale or resale of the house…

On April 21, 2011, the day the case broke, you invite the press to court to discuss the worrying disappearance of a Nantes family. But after long minutes of delay, you finally announce the discovery of buried human remains. What memories do you keep of it?

Obviously this day remains in my memory. The classic press conference that I had organized was intended to launch a simple call for witnesses. But five minutes before the meeting time, the police commissioner who was with me in my office received a phone call announcing the discovery of a first body and the fear that other bodies were buried under the terrace. . This announcement led me to decide to immediately secure the premises against the arrival of curious people, to reprogram the procedural suite and to completely modify the “language elements” of my press conference. Rather than canceling it, I preferred to maintain it, play on transparency and inform journalists “in real time”. I then went there with my assistant.

Your crisis communication was praised by your peers at the time. How do you manage such a media subject?

For a long time, I understood that it was not necessary to leave to others the care of communicating on the action of justice and that if the judicial institution and its main actors were silent, one should not then be surprised that the action of justice is misunderstood or wrongly criticized. I therefore wanted, in conjunction with the examining magistrate, to treat all the media equally and transparently and to answer their questions as fully as possible. I refused to provoke “false leaks” called “sources close to the investigation” or to make privileged confidences to some. It hasn’t always been popular, but at least I’ve found that this impartial and pluralistic dissemination of information has helped to dry up most of the fake scoops or smoky revelations.

In October 2019, during the false arrest of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, you went out of your reserve by showing yourself harsh towards the media and “experts of all stripes outside the case” …

I once again thought with a little indignation about the trauma caused to the Ligonnès family. The media have authorized themselves to make their headlines on the arrest of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès on the basis of “several corroborating sources”. In reality, the only reliable source was and should have remained the public prosecutor of Nantes, Pierre Sennès, who by law holds the monopoly of communication on a legal case. The repetition by three or ten police officers of an error in understanding a fact by one of their own does not make it a truth. An obviously Parisian police source made a mistake in having access to false or incomplete information from Scotland, trumpeted it in violation of the professional secrecy to which it was bound and unfortunately made it a media truth since no or few media have accepted the risk of being a few minutes late for information compared to their colleagues. As for “experts of all kinds” I admit that the expression is a little lively but I am always amazed to see the aplomb with which on TV or radio sets self-proclaimed specialists in such and such a subject, especially in criminology, affirm their certainties and their analyzes while the investigations are not finished and dissert cleverly, or they believe it, on the guilt of a suspect, his death or his flight …

Is the absence of a culprit a decade after the fact a failure for justice?

The absence of arrest or discovery of a body is not a failure because the “judicial truth” on the circumstances of these five assassinations very quickly progressed enormously. Ten years is by no means an insurmountable obstacle. Justice is also patience if it shows perseverance and professionalism, which has always been the case in the Nantes court.

Should we consider a trial even in the absence of the main suspect?

In a judicial investigation, an investigation is closed when there is clearly nothing left to do. This does not appear to be the case and no information of a possible trial in the absence of an accused was communicated to me.

When you were still Nantes prosecutor, you considered that the suicide hypothesis [de XDDL] was “most likely”. Has your belief changed?

That was indeed my analysis almost ten years ago. In view of my current functions, and not having been in charge of this investigation since 2012, I will refrain from communicating my current analysis to you.

Do you think the matter will be resolved in ten years?

I am not a diviner. Let’s make an appointment for this date.