The second round of the clash between the presenter of Do not touch My TV Cyril Hanouna and the deputy of Nupes, Louis Boyard, will it be played in the courtrooms? On Monday, during a press conference, the elected official announced his intention to file a complaint for “public insult” against the host and the director of publication of the channel. In question: a violent altercation during the program during which Cyril Hanouna notably insulted him with “tocard”, “jester”, “shit” after the latter denounced the action of Vincent Bolloré – also owner of the chain – in Africa.
If this Tuesday, the prosecution still had no trace of this complaint, public insult, which depends on press law, is punishable by a fine of 12,000 euros, to which damages may be added. “Usage is that generally, when it comes to a first conviction, the sentence is pronounced with a suspended sentence”, specifies the criminal lawyer Me Eolas. However, Cyril Hanouna has already been the subject of a conviction for defamation last May for remarks made in this same program.
A defamation complaint as a media counter-attack?
On the other hand, specifies the council, the quality of elected of the plaintiff does not worsen the qualifications. In September 2020, however, the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti had sent a circular to the prosecutors asking them to favor the qualification of “contempt” to that of “insult” concerning elected officials. A major difference since the offense of contempt is aggravated when it is committed against a person responsible for a public service mission and liable to one year’s imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros. “In this case, it is absolutely impossible, insists Me Eolas. The main difference between the two offenses is the publicity of the remarks, as soon as these are likely to be heard by others, even in the street, we are in the field of insult. The question for a program broadcast at prime time therefore does not even arise.
Cyril Hanouna’s counter-attack was not long in coming: Monday evening, during two hours of broadcast devoted to this “case”, he indicated his intention to also turn to the courts, accusing the deputy , who is none other than a former columnist, of “defamation”. “Know that we too will take action. And we are going to attack for what he may have said, defamation, and all the defamation he had against us, ”he said, without specifying what comments were explicitly targeted. The statements of the elected on Vincent Bolloré? His accusations of “raising racism”, of having made “money on Zemmour” or still “dancing on the Lola affair” ?
The difference is significant since in matters of defamation only the person explicitly targeted by the remarks can file a complaint. Thus, if it comes to statements on Vincent Bolloré, the industrialist is the only one who can initiate the procedure. The fact remains that if Cyril Hanouna considers himself directly targeted by certain remarks made by Louis Boyard, he can directly seize the court for a direct citation. However, the procedure is not without risk since a financial deposit is required by the court and can be kept if the procedure is considered abusive. Hence a well-known rule in press law: publicly announcing one’s intention to lodge a complaint is not automatically followed by facts.