“No argument can justify the continued detention of Alain Ferrandi”


Paris Match met Simon-Paulu Ferrandi, the son of Alain Ferrandi, sentenced to life in the case of the assassination of the prefect Erignac. He looks back on his childhood and the lifting of his dad’s particularly reported prisoner status when Matignon has just announced the transfer of the members of the commando to Corsica, by mid-April.

His father, Simon-Paulu Ferrandi only knew him in the visiting room. From the life before, he keeps bits of memories. Flashes of them playing. He was 3 years old at the time of the arrest of Alain Ferrandi, designated as the head of the Erignac commando. A situation that he accepted, as a fatality. “Despite the distance, my dad was always very present. I never blamed him, he blurts out. Of course I missed him in my moments as a little boy. When I went to play ball and my friends arrived with their fathers, it pained me. Modest with a shy smile, Simon-Paulu’s eyes shine when he talks about this man, imprisoned for almost 23 years. When in May 1999, the national anti-terrorist division landed in their house in Ajaccio, he found himself alone with his mother. Alain Ferrandi is sent to the continent. From there, begins a tour of France penitentiary centers. Osny-Pontoise, Fleury-Mérogis, Saint-Maur, Bois-d’Arcy, Clairvaux, Poissy… “I always went up to see him in prison, he explains. My mother made sure that I keep this bond. »

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The two men not only share a physical resemblance, they also find each other in their way of thinking. “It’s easy to talk to him and understand him. I am a whole person and so is he. We are both hypersensitive. For the past ten years, father and son have been sharing more than a chat on a side table. They perpetuate their ties thanks to the family life units. For this, Simon-Paulu Ferrandi slips behind the walls of the Poissy prison for 48 hours. Once the search is over, and the mobile phone left at the entrance, they can enjoy. “It’s nice to share a meal,” he adds. The last visit dates back to last fall. He didn’t make the trip alone this time. He wanted to introduce her to his little boy, aged 9 months. A moment charged with emotion. “Reality hit him in the face. When he entered prison, he had a baby at home. He now realizes that it’s his baby’s turn to have one. Simon-Paulu has kept the same rhythm of visits since his childhood. Four to five times a year during school holidays. First accompanied by his mother, then by his family when his parents separated, he now honors appointments alone. He is aware that he will never be able to make up for lost time. At 26, he only aspires to one thing: to take advantage of whoever remains.

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Some choices were motivated by political will that ran counter to logic

It has been 5 years since Alain Ferrandi could claim a sentence adjustment. A first request for semi-freedom was refused in 2019. Last February, the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office decided to appeal the decision concerning conditional release. The court of application of the antiterrorist sentences of Paris had however given its agreement. The overturned decision will be retried on April 21. “We have a lot of hope in this appeal. All lights are green. The reports from the National Assessment Center are very favorable and so are the psychological analyses. Today, no argument can justify his continued detention. The sentence adjustment provided that he worked during the day, and that he slept in the prison of Borgo, in Haute-Corse, in the evening “explains Simon-Paulu Ferrandi, worried for his dad following Yvan’s attack. Colonna, on March 2. On Friday March 11, in a spirit of appeasement, Jean Castex announced the lifting of the status of particularly reported detainees (DPS) of Alain Ferrandi and Pierre Alessandri. Until then and twice, the government had gone against the local commission which gave a favorable opinion on this radiation.

Simon Paulu Ferrandi, seated, in the middle, attended one of the meetings attended by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin at the premises of the Collectivity of Corsica on the first day of his visit

© Olivier Sanchez / Crystal Pictures

“Certain choices were motivated, not by an objective analysis of the situation, but by political will which went against logic”, denounces Simon-Paulu who is sorry that it was necessary to wait for the aggression of ‘Yvan Colonna for awareness. The Ferrandi family now wants him to be brought closer to Borgo prison very quickly. “Now is the time to do it. But our goal is not for him to return to stay there for 10 years, insists his son. And to add, justice is past and it must be the same for everyone. My father has served his sentence. Is the will to see him die in prison? »

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The Erignac affair hovers like a shadow in the family

The families of Corsican prisoners, detained on the mainland, experience the distance as a double penalty. “For a visit of half an hour, or three-quarters of an hour, we have to leave for two or three days. Added to the financial cost is the difficulty of maintaining family ties. “My 95-year-old grandmother hasn’t seen her son for 7 years. The old lady is no longer able to bear the journey. “If my father were transferred to Borgo, we could at least take him there. Two hours by car is enough. »

The Erignac affair hovers like a shadow in the family. But the name of the prefect, assassinated with three bullets on February 6, 1998, is not taboo. “We discussed the case with my father. And we still do. An only child, Simon-Paulu was never ashamed of his name. “I have always assumed it. I knew that if he wasn’t there, it was because he had made a political choice, which we support or not. My father has now been an exemplary inmate for over 20 years. For the time being, Alain Ferrandi, 62, spends his days repairing soundtracks and doing bodybuilding.

When we talk about the future, reunions remain timid. “If it’s summer, maybe we’ll go to the sea.” With all the same a fear that his grandmother won’t have time to hug her son one last time.



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