The public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, finds himself in a special position. If for once it is not up to him to bring the accusation, the representative of the public prosecutor must deliver his vision of things to the court.
The prosecutor, in turn, reviews the main stages of the case. It focuses on this famous legal confrontation organized at the end of 2018, a spectacular turning point in the procedure. “I have never witnessed such a moment. It was a surreal scene. The investigating magistrate had the intelligence to leave the hand to Madame Fouillot, who, in the name of their very strong bond, will gradually convince Mr. Daval to tell the truth and get out of this lie in which he had become entangled. He will end up kneeling at Madame’s feet, with this astonishing scene, when she picks him up to restore his dignity as a man. »
Etienne Manteaux decides: “ It seems difficult to me, in this case, to enter into the process of conviction. On one level, Jonathann Daval is eminently reprehensible, but you are not the judges of morality. The law and case law allow an accused person to lie. This may seem shocking to society, and it is particularly so in this case because I understand the suffering of this family, who may have felt soiled. »
The prosecutor ends his remarks by reading the statements of each person, made at the end of the trial. Everyone welcomed the verdict, 25 years in prison. “It is very rare for both the defense and the civil parties to say that justice has been well done. It is time to definitively close this Daval file, on one side or the other. »
Etienne Manteaux rereads a recent hearing of Jonathann Daval, heard in the context of a defamation complaint that was finally withdrawn. “I take responsibility for what I did, the trial has been carried out, it is established, we must stop. I only want one thing, that people stop talking about me,” Jonathann said from his cell.
The prosecutor tries to signal the end of the legal standoff, by addressing Alexia’s relatives seated in front of him. “The time has come to turn the page, to try to achieve appeasement. Forgiveness is not forgetting. Suffering from the loss of a child is a suffering that one carries throughout their life. But I am convinced that complaints and lawsuits can only rekindle your pain. »
The parquet floor offers relaxation.