Jules Benchetrit recounts his childhood without his mother

Jules Benchétrit was 5 years old when his mother, Marie Trintignant, died after being abused by Bertrand Cantat. Raised only by his father, Samuel Benchétrit, he tells about his childhood.

On the night of July 26-27, 2003 Marie Trintignant was in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania. Accompanied by her companion, Bertrand Cantat, she is present in the Lithuanian capital for the shooting of the TV movie Colette, a free woman. In the evening, she receives a message from her estranged husband, Samuel Benchetrit. A dispute then broke out in the sequel.

Bertrand Cantat hits Marie Trintignant on several occasions. She falls lifeless. Her companion then puts her on the bed, but does not call for help. It was later, in the middle of the night, that he contacted his brother, Vincent Trintignant, who would join them. He will call an ambulance at 7.15 a.m. Admitted to Vilnus University Hospital, the actress is operated on twice to decompress her brain, where edema has been detected. Despite the efforts of the doctors, she remains in a coma. On July 31, she was repatriated to France in a state of brain death. After a last brain operation, carried out in an ultimate attempt to save her, she died on August 1, 2003 in Neuilly-Sur Scène.

Jules Benchetrit grew up without his mother

The death of Marie Trintignant shocks the whole of France. Behind her, the 41-year-old actress leaves four children: Roman, born in 1986 and whose father is Richard Kolinka, Paul, born in 1993 from his union with François Cluzet, Léon, born in 1996 with Mathias Othnin-Girard as his father , and Jules, born in 1998 from his marriage to Samuel Benchetrit. The latter was only 5 years old when his mother died. He is now 23, and 18 years have passed since his mother disappeared.

Throughout his childhood, Jules Benchetrit could count on the unconditional support of his father. In 2019, the young actor told how his director father had raised him, alone. “He was the one who taught me to behave well, to dress myself, to give off a good image. Education is essential for him”, he explained to Men’s Gala. From his relationship with his dad, the young man draws his passion for cinema. In 2021, he also plays in his film This music doesn’t play for anyone. In 2011 and 2015, he was already in front of his father’s camera for At Gino and Asphalt.

Father and son are particularly close and accomplices. “My father raised me alone, he was very young [il avait 30 ans au moment de la mère de Marie Trintignant, ndlr]. He did very well but people do not know what our galleys have been “, confided Jules Benchetrit to Gala. In 2016, Samuel Benchetrit directed the film Night with my wife, tribute to his deceased wife. At the time of his release, he confided to the press that he and Jules were unconditionally bound by the sentence, “like two poor guys with such a news item on their backs. According to him, they had then developed “a certain cynicism both, to desecrate the drama”.

Melody Capronnier

Melody Capronnier

Journalist passionate about current affairs, committed to women’s rights and ecology, Mélodie handles the news for you on Sundays and public holidays. When she’s not on the lookout …