“It is a violent scene but I do not carry deliberate blows”, affirms the ex in charge of mission of the Elysee

At the Paris judicial court,

In the courtroom, all faces are turned to the screen. The judge assessor, Edmond Brunaud, is determined to analyze sequence by sequence the video shot by journalist Tahaf Bouhafs on May 1, 2018, place de la Contrescarpe. The images show the brutal arrest of a couple by two of the four defendants, Alexandre Benalla, and his friend Vincent Crase, a reservist gendarme, former employee of LREM. “The scene that everyone has seen is violent, but I do not intentionally strike. There are two people, one of whom is trying to overpower the other. These are technical gestures that have gone badly, poorly controlled ”, is justified this Friday the ex-representative of the Elysee, who is judged in particular for willful violence in meetings.

The magistrate passes and replay the video, sometimes in slow motion, in order to fully understand the unfolding of the facts. “It’s called surgery,” smiles the judge. The beginning of the scene, however, takes place outside of the field. Georgios D. and his partner, Chloé P., in their thirties, eat a pancake on rue Mouffetard to celebrate their six years together. The situation is tense in the neighborhood where police officers and black blocks play cat and mouse. Suddenly, the young man takes a baton as another CRS kicks a glass bottle in their direction. Georgios D. recognizes it and regrets it: he lost his temper and threw a jug at the police. The couple, who had never set foot in a demonstration, were fined 500 euros in 2019.

“It took my breath away and I started to vomit”

In the following minutes, dozens of CRS fell on them. And among them are Alexandre Benalla and Vincent Crase, who followed the police that day as observers. The first belts the young woman and drags her for several meters while the second helps the CRS to arrest Georgios D. He “scares” him when he raises his hand above him, as if he were going to hit him. . The young Greek cook is pinned to the ground. He is calm and tries to talk to Crase when Benalla arrives from behind. “I grabbed it at the level of the left biceps and at the level of the chin, not the neck”, assures the defendant, specifying that it was not a question of a choke hold.

Frightened, Georgios D. struggles. Benalla raises his hand and seems to kick him on the head. “I’m trying to catch him on the shoulder,” continues Benalla. Laughter from the audience. Georgios finds himself once again on the ground. The former relative of Emmanuel Macron then walks on him. “It took my breath away and I started to vomit,” recalls Georgios D .. “I was clinging to him, I was dragged into the fall and I tried to avoid him. defends Benalla. If I had stepped on him, I don’t think he got up: 110 kg thrown at someone, there would have been damage. »Subsequently, Benalla will prevent people from approaching the couple who were being arrested. But was it not for the police officers present in large numbers to do so? “It is as if there had been a road accident, it has already happened that I ask people not to approach to film an accident with their phone. “

A “citizen” act

Alexandre Benalla is still convinced of the merits of his intervention. He acted as a “citizen” to “control someone who has committed violence against police officers”. Without him, “there would have been an additional free police attacker in the street” because he says Georgios wanted to flee. “If we had not been there, this gentleman would not have been heard [par la justice] thereafter ”, adds Vincent Crase. They are certain of having respected article 73 of the code of criminal procedure which provides that “in cases of flagrant crime or flagrant offense punishable by imprisonment, any person has standing to apprehend the perpetrator and lead him in front of the nearest JPO ”. Even if a hundred CRS are present around?

“It’s an attempt to control on my part which was very muddled, but I did not use voluntary blows to hurt him,” insists Benalla. Three years later, Chloé P., she still seems marked by the events of the Contrescarpe. “It was very difficult to live with, especially when the affair broke, there was a lot of things said about us in the media,” she explains. I’m not expecting much from this trial, what we want is an apology, it will remain a trauma for life that’s for sure. The trial of Alexandre Benalla is to last until October 1. He faces up to seven years in prison and a 100,000 euros fine.

Follow the trial live on our journalist’s twitter account @TiboChevillard


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