Jean Alesi will be judged in correctional, in 2023, for “degradation of the property of others by a means dangerous for the people, fact committed within the framework of a family conflict”. This was indicated on Tuesday evening by the public prosecutor of Nîmes, Éric Maurel. The pilot’s son will also be prosecuted for complicity in the same affair.
It all started on Sunday December 19th. Around 10 p.m., in the city center of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Gard), a thud was heard in the night, near the Place Saint-Marc. An explosive object had visibly been placed in front of the entrance of an architectural firm, degrading the glass door of the establishment but causing no injuries.
The investigators would then have found the trace of the suspects thanks to the license plate of the car spotted on the scene that evening. This led to the arrest of José, Jean Alesi’s brother. Then the former pilot spontaneously presented himself to the Sûreté départementale d’Avignon, just on the other side of the Rhône.
It is there, as revealed The team, that the Vauclusien was taken into custody on Monday, December 20. Police custody that continued on Tuesday, like those of the other people involved.
During his police custody, Jean Alesi cleared his brother from customs and explained that it was he himself who was in the car, with his son and a friend of the latter. He also specified that he himself “stuck a large fireworks display bought in Italy in the frame of a window of his brother-in-law’s architectural practice”, without imagining that it would burst, explained the vice. – Nîmes prosecutor, Antoine Wolff.
According to information gathered by AFP, Jean Alesi explained that he only wanted to play a “bad joke” on his brother-in-law, in the process of separation with his sister, ensuring not to be in dispute with him.
The brother-in-law, who says he has “no worries” with Jean Alesi, has however filed a complaint for the degradation of his window, said Mr. Wolff. “I am quite skeptical about the notion of a joke carried out at 22:00, without the person concerned knowing who it is, ”added the deputy prosecutor of Nîmes.
Jean Alesi in brief
Born June 11, 1964 (57 years old) in Avignon (Vaucluse). Based in Cologny (Switzerland), near Geneva.
➤ Activities: founder of the Jean Alesi eSports Academy, F1 consultant for Canal +, ambassador for the Paul-Ricard circuit and the French Grand Prix. Captain of the French team FFSA (French Federation of Motorsport) circuit.
➤ Discipline: Formula 1.
➤ Honors: 201 Grands Prix contested, one victory (Canada, June 11, 1995), 32 podiums and twice in pole position.
➤ Stables: Tyrrell (1989-1990), Ferrari (1991-1995), Benetton (1996-1997), Sauber (1998-1999), Prost (2000-2001), Jordan (2001).