William Molinie
modified to
06:59, July 13, 2022
It is an ordeal that lives in the almost general indifference, both diplomatic, but also media, a French businessman of 58 years, a retired colonel, former Saint-Cyr. Philippe François was arrested a year ago in Madagascar. He was tried in December and sentenced to 10 years of forced labor. Malagasy justice accuses him of having participated in the preparation of a coup whose object would have been to assassinate the president, which he has always disputed. He is now awaiting his cassation trial in unbearable conditions of detention.
No direct contact for a year
No water or electricity in his cell in the Tsiafahy prison, located about thirty kilometers from the Malagasy capital. Philippe François, via his lawyer, still manages to distill news to his daughter Constance, even if they are drop by drop, and not very reassuring: “For almost a year now, we haven’t had him on the phone with my brothers and sisters, with my family. It’s only deferred contact. All our letters, all our letters are read. Everything is watched. My father is in a real dependence. If we don’t bring him anything, he won’t ‘will have nothing,’ she explains.
This French entrepreneur, former army colonel, is accused of having fomented a coup. A file assembled from scratch, according to his relatives. “Obviously, we were flabbergasted, we knew very well that it was nonsense. And we thought he was going to come back quickly. He’s a political hostage. He has nothing to do there” , says his daughter.
Macron discussed this affair with his Malagasy counterpart
In Paris, the innocence of Philippe François is not in doubt, including even in the highest spheres. According to information from Europe 1, Emmanuel Macron even raised the subject with his Malagasy counterpart a year ago. Florence Parly, the former Minister of Defence, received the family who today asks the Quai d’Orsay to activate its diplomatic levers. “We have the feeling of having been abandoned. We, what we want from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is that it take over the case, that it pushes for a cassation trial is coming quickly for my father, to finally overturn this court decision which has no basis, and to finally release my father and also restore his honor to him, she adds.
Next Wednesday, it will be a year since Philippe François was arrested at Antananarivo airport, even before being able to board a flight to Paris. That day, he was to marry his daughter.