The Bobigny prosecutor’s office appealed on Wednesday 1er December, the release of judo trainer Alain Schmitt concerning acts of violence against his partner, Olympic champion Margaux Pinot, this weekend in Seine-Saint-Denis. Believing that he had “Not enough evidence of guilt”, the correctional court of Bobigny had released Alain Schmitt, at the end of a hearing in immediate appearance, in the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
At the trial, the public prosecutor denounced “Very serious violence, even for a first-time offender”, and required a one-year suspended prison sentence against Alain Schmitt.
“What was missing? Death at the end, perhaps? “
Wednesday afternoon, the judoka, gold medalist in Tokyo with the France team, spoke for the first time on social networks since the start of the case to express her indignation. “What is their slanderous defense of my injuries, and the blood strewn on the floor of my apartment?” What was missing? Death at the end, perhaps? “, she rebelled by posting a photo of her swollen face. “It was probably judo that saved me”, she added.
Alain Schmitt, 38, was arrested in a state of intoxication on the night of Saturday to Sunday at Blanc-Mesnil, a few hours before his scheduled departure for Israel, where he is expected to take the reins of the women’s team. Margaux Pinot, 27, accuses her companion and ex-trainer at the Etoile Sportive du Blanc-Mesnil club of having beaten him, pulled his hair and tried to strangle him in his apartment.
Her calls for help alerted some neighbors, where she found refuge before the police arrived, around 2:30 am. Suffering from bruises and a broken nose, she was prescribed ten days of incapacity. temporary work (ITT).
A fight like a “tornado”, according to Alain Schmitt
The hearing, Tuesday in Bobigny, had been marked by contradictory versions. Also presenting a bruised face, Alain Schmitt contested ” 100 % “ the facts with which he was accused. At the bar, he denied having dealt the slightest blow to his companion, instead describing a fight between lovers as a “Tornado”, based on judo holds and triggered by Margaux Pinot. “It was not a judo fight, it was punches”, protested the judoka at the bar.
In a message of support to her teammate in the France team, the female star of French judo Clarisse Agbégnénou said “Shocked” by the court decision. “I do not have the words to express everything that is going on in my head and my body as a woman in the face of what my teammate Margaux Pinot has undergone”, tweeted the one who was the flag bearer of the French delegation to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. “We are all deeply touched by what our teammate Margaux Pinot has just suffered”, said a few minutes later three-time Olympic champion Teddy Riner.
Contacted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Alain Schmitt’s lawyer, Caroline Wassermann, said that her client welcomed with ” serenity “ the appeal of the prosecution. “This does not mean that the court’s decision [d’appel] will not be similar to the first instance decision ”, she said.
The individual record of Margaux Pinot, who fought in two categories (less than 63 and less than 70 kilos), notably includes a world bronze medal in 2019, two titles of European champion (2019 and 2020) and two medals of mainland money (2017, 2021).
Bronze medalist at the 2013 Worlds (less than 81 kilos), Alain Schmitt told the court to consider his departure for Israel as a “Real life change” after six years as a trainer at Blanc-Mesnil where he also trained Madeleine Malonga. He is due to fly to the Middle East in the next few days.