At the Nanterre court (Hauts-de-Seine),
Back to court for Balkany. This time, there is no question of money laundering or tax evasion. The former mayor of Levallois, 74, and his wife Isabelle, 75, are on trial this Tuesday in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), for a somewhat sordid affair: the broadcast, in February 2021, of sexual photomontages of a former municipal councilor who became the first deputy of the current mayor of the city, Agnès Pottier-Dumas. All dressed in blue, Patrick Balkany appears emaciated when he advances to the bar of the court. The president recalls the facts: David-Xavier Weiss filed a complaint on February 23, 2021, after several political figures linked to the municipality received intimate photos of him on their phones. Three days earlier, the latter had dared to comment on social networks on the placement under an electronic bracelet of the Balkany couple. What the former mayor did not appreciate.
Patrick Balkany, who left the town hall of Levallois in 2020, notably sent these photos to Roger Karoutchi, LR senator from Hauts-de-Seine. “My dear Roger, your asshole boyfriend who behaves like shit is going to regret his beautiful statement,” he wrote to her. He also passed them on to his successor as mayor of Levallois, Agnès Pottier-Dumas. “Dear Agnès, have a good holiday. Your first assistant in action…. “It was a touch of humor,” defends Balkany. “I didn’t make it a matter to put on the public highway. »
“I have no spirit of revenge”
Why broadcast them? “As a former mayor, it was normal to tell him [à sa remplaçante] what happened. It was not to make it an affair of state. He considered it important that Agnès Pottier-Dumas be made aware of their existence, because “if it had happened to me when I was mayor, I would have asked her to resign immediately”. Patrick Balkany adds that “it is important for those who decide to know what their first collaborator does”. But he says there “were no other reasons” for the dissemination of these photos. “I don’t have the spirit of revenge. If he had wanted to harm him, he would have had these photos printed and distributed in all the mailboxes in Levallois. “It had to stay in a private, restricted circle. If it became known, it’s because he filed a complaint. Otherwise, no one would have heard of it. »
Patrick Balkany also swears that he is not the author of these photomontages. According to him, they were sent to his wife Isabelle – absent on Tuesday for health reasons – by a mysterious correspondent. They would also have been printed and deposited, in an envelope, at his office. “These photos are filthy, I say it for the journalists present, they are filthy photos”, continues the defendant. Balkany also sent them to the complainant’s relatives, in order to be “sure that it was not a montage”. “I still have a few friends at the DGSI,” he brags. I did not hesitate to ask them if it was a montage. They told me that the photos had not been edited. »
Complaint withdrawn
Patrick Balkany assures that these pictures would have been posted beforehand on a pornographic site. “I am not responsible for putting a photo, which I cannot qualify, on a website, I am not responsible for having these photos left for me at the office. I gave them to two people particularly concerned, ”claims the former mayor of Levallois. And to “regret” that David-Xavier Weiss “is not there”. “Me too,” continues the prosecutor. “It was he who withdrew his complaint” on March 31, observes the defendant.
The public prosecutor is not convinced. He believes that the Balkany couple wanted to take revenge on this former municipal councilor. The magistrate explains that the complainant assured the investigators of the judicial police that it was a photomontage. What several seized experts could not demonstrate formally, the picture being too degraded. The representative of the public prosecutor nevertheless considers that “the offense of photomontage is consumed” and requires a fine of 10,000 euros
“I have a different idea of justice”
The lawyer for the Balkany spouses, Me Robin Binsard, recalls for his part that there is “no certainty on a photomontage in this file”. “Your court cannot convict,” he explains. “In this case we did not seek the truth and who first disseminated these photos”, continues the lawyer, adding that there is “a different judicial treatment” for his client. Me Binsard recognizes a “restricted distribution” of the famous shots, which legally does not constitute a “publication”. He asks the court to “cleanse the honor” of the Balkany couple by releasing them.
“I am released in 15 days from my parole, I will be totally free”, adds the 74-year-old retiree, who indicates receiving 8,000 euros in pension and his wife 4,000 euros. “But on that I have samples. Patrick Balkany speaks one last time. “I was shocked by the words of the public prosecutor. I have a different idea of justice. When you can’t prove someone’s guilty, they’re innocent. The decision will be made on June 6.