Back to prison for Patrick Balkany. The Rouen Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday: the former LR mayor of Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine) and his wife Isabelle should find themselves behind bars. Due to numerous incidents, the placement under an electronic bracelet of the couple – who is serving his conviction for massive tax evasion – had been revoked in mid-December. On January 24, the general prosecutor’s office in Rouen had “required confirmation” of this dismissal of December 17 by the court of application of the sentences of Evreux (Eure).
“This decision is worrying in law and in fact”, quickly reacted Patrick Balkany’s lawyer, Romain Dieudonné. According to him, the situation of his client “is still worrying”, recalling that his state of health had “justified his release several months ago”. “I will soon file a new request for sentence adjustment and will follow the evolution of his state of health day after day”, he warns.
It was with a tweet that Isabelle Balkany reacted on her side: “I just want to sleep, SLEEP… Exhausted by age, mine, hatred, others, anguish for the man in my life, the incurable wound of the “scrub” of what I could do something positive…” But, above all, as if it were a farewell message, she concludes: “Thank you to those who made me happy to love me… It’s time for this to stop.” Live on BFM TV, Patrick Balkany also said that the Samu was at their home because his wife “swallowed a box of je ne sais quoi”. As a reminder, Isabelle Balkany has already made two suicide attempts, each time in the wake of a court decision. “I’ll complain [contre le juge] for endangering the lives of others, warns the former mayor of Levallois.
It’s that the Balkany have obviously lacked seriousness lately, since a hundred“incidents” have rings their bracelets in a few months. While they are supposed to be under house arrest at the Moulin de Cossy, their home in Giverny (Eure), the “Bonnie and Clyde” from Hauts-de-Seine have been seen several times in Levallois, sometimes on the market, sometimes in the stands of the local basketball team’s gymnasium.
To justify these hiccups, Isabelle Balkany’s lawyer, Pierre-Olivier Sur, tried to begin an explanation on January 3 with Mediapart : “There were a hundred incidents of ringing, and a bit of flippancy… They’re not allowed out of the house, but when the dog comes out they run after it, when the postman comes by they go to the portal. At the time of the hearing, the device was finally settled so that there were no more incidents.
After a first court decision to this effect in 2019, the Balkanys were sentenced on appeal in March 2020 to three years in prison for tax evasion. After a suicide attempt in early May 2019, Isabelle, now 74, escaped prison but, conversely, Patrick, 73, was imprisoned in September 2019 at the Parisian prison health center. Very thin, he was finally released five months later, on February 12, 2020, for health reasons. Shortly after, the same Balkany appeared in a firecracker pink sweater, during the Levallois Music Festival, dancing to Bosh.
At the same time, the couple is sentenced on appeal for “aggravated bleaching” on May 27, 2020 after having hidden 13 million euros in assets from the tax authorities between 2007 and 2014. Patrick received five years in prison, Isabelle four years. In addition, in February 2021, the former baron LR was triple indicted in another investigation into suspicions of fraudulent use of premises belonging to the city of Levallois. A sacred CV which had not prevented Patrick Balkany from considering running for the last municipal elections. Before finally giving up a few weeks later.
Update : this Thursday, February 3 at 3 p.m. with the addition of the reactions of the defense, of Isabelle Balkany and the mention of her suicide attempt.