Christine Villemin was doubly victim of the Grégory affair: in addition to facing the death of her son, she was accused and vilified. On the occasion of the broadcast of “Une Affaire française” on TF1, a look back at the misogynistic treatment she suffered.
In the series A French Affair on TF1, Laurence Arné plays Jeanne Lombardie. This fictional character is a committed journalist, who will gradually take the side of little Grégory’s mother. Indeed, over the years, Chrisitine Villemin has been accused of being an infanticide mother and crushed by accusations. She was thus placed in pre-trial detention in 1985 by Judge Lambert, before being released because of charges that were too low. She will not benefit from a dismissal until eight years later.
Laurence Arné, who has documented a lot on the case before playing the ally of Christine Villemin, was challenged by his fate. “What upset me was that she and her husband were very young at the time of the events. (Christine Villemin had Grégory at 20, editor’s note) And then the media pack comes to invade them “, she explains to aufeminin. As the actress points out, the Grégory affair shows a young woman who must proclaim her innocence despite colossal pressure. “The police try to manipulate her and she responds with real intelligence, real strength, she keeps her authenticity and does not give up, emphasizes Laurence Arné. She always comes back to the love she had for her son and the love she has for her husband. She lost her child, but she kept her honor “.
Christine Villemin, grieving mother and isolated woman
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Grégory’s mother lost everything in a very short time: her son, then her husband imprisoned for the murder of Bernard Laroche. One of his lawyers also underlined, during an interview given in 2006 in the program “Bring the accused”, that the press had given of his client. “a distorted image and nothing tells me that this image could have been restored in a few days of assize court”. Christine Villemin was quite simply isolated by a media pack against which she could not defend herself. In 1985, she became pregnant again, and was publicly vilified for it. Christine gave birth alone on September 30, 1985, from Julien, “conceived in tears “,” the child of survival “. She lost a child, who was to be little Julien’s twin.
This is also why Laurence Arné accepted the character of Jeanne Lombardy: to embody what Christine Villemin lacked. In A French affair, we observe two women who form an alliance in the face of adversity and particularly strong misogyny at the time. “My character develops a sorority with Christine Villemin, they are allies and that is quite strong. Christine Villemin was demonized so much that I liked playing a character who brings this alliance of women against a universe that is still very patriarchal.”
Laurence Arné goes even further by speaking of a feminist role: that of a free journalist, who “tries to pave the way in her writing, to show that she can have a career, go into the field and keep her righteousness there, despite the various pressures exerted on her”. Two women who resist amidst the horror of crime, to which is added misogynistic violence.