Paris, May 19, 2016. Olivier Duhamel photographed in the corridors of Sciences Po where he was teaching.

-

STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

  • Monday,

    Le Monde

     and

    L'Obs

    revealed the good sheets of the book

    La Familia grande,

    in which Camille Kouchner denounces the incest that the political scientist Olivier Duhamel would have committed in the 1990s.

  • In reaction, this regular on TV shows and specialist in French politics resigned from all his functions.

  • Even if the facts seem prescribed, the Paris prosecutor announced on Tuesday the opening of a preliminary investigation.

We will probably no longer hear his voice in political broadcasts.

The political scientist Olivier Duhamel resigned on Monday from all his functions after being implicated in a book published by his daughter-in-law, Camille Kouchner.

She accuses him of having abused her twin brother when the latter was 14 years old.

According to his account, the facts go back to the end of the 1980s. They seem now prescribed.

However, the Paris prosecutor's office announced on Tuesday the opening of a preliminary investigation in order "to shed light on these facts".

20 Minutes looks

back on this whole affair ...

What exactly will the preliminary investigation opened by the prosecution relate to?

Shortly before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor's office announced that it was opening a preliminary investigation after the publication of several press articles implicating Olivier Duhamel.

The investigation is open on counts of “rape and sexual assault by person having authority over a minor of 15 years” and “rape and sexual assault by person in authority”.

It was entrusted to the brigade for the protection of minors (BPM) of the regional directorate of the judicial police of Paris.

“The investigations will focus on shedding light on these facts, identifying any other potential victim and verifying the possible prescription of the facts.

"

Camille Kouchner's book, “La Familia Grande”.

- JOEL SAGET / AFP

What are the prescription rules in this area?

The facts denounced seem time-barred, even if only the investigation will reveal it.

In matters of sexual crimes against minors, the statute of limitations in France is 20 years from the date of majority of the victim.

According to Camille Kouchner's account, Victor *, his twin brother, was allegedly abused by Olivier Duhamel in 1988, when he was 14 years old.

The young man came of age in 1992 and the facts could have been prosecuted for the next 20 years, that is to say until 2012 or 2013 ...

"The subject of prescription in matters of sexual abuse of minors is hot," attests lawyer Dominique Attias, recognized for her commitment in this field.

In recent years, many voices have been raised to extend it to 30 years from the age of majority.

I am reserved on this subject.

If we do it for the rape of a minor, why not do it for the murders of children?

Or other crimes?

It would be like opening a Pandora's Box.

We must not react under the influence of emotion ... "

Hadn't the facts really been exposed earlier?

As

Le Monde

suggested

by revealing the case on Monday, this is not the first time that the charges of incest against Olivier Duhamel have been brought to the attention of justice.

In its press release, the Paris prosecutor's office confirms that a previous procedure had been closed without follow-up in 2011. This had "not given rise to any complaint from the victim or to a hearing of the accused", indicates the Paris prosecutor's office.

It is not excluded that the facts denounced were already prescribed at that time.

Above all, according to journalist Ariane Chemin, who wrote the article for

Le Monde

, Victor allegedly, during his hearing, “recorded the eternal guilt reflexes of incest victims” and refused to file a complaint.

“They are not going to screw up what I built at work, with my children, my life!

», He would have even blurted out to his brother and sister on this subject.

A book which appears in 3 days accuses the political scientist Olivier Duhamel, head of the National Foundation of Political Sciences and of the Le Siècle club.

He has just resigned.

Our survey https://t.co/Yrs4KtgULn

- Ariane Chemin (@ArianeChemin) January 4, 2021

Why is Élisabeth Guigou implicated in this affair?

Former Minister of Justice, Élisabeth Guigou was cited in the article in

Le Monde

as being one of the people who frequented the couple Olivier Duhamel formed with Evelyne Pisier at the time of the events.

The article suggests that she could have been aware of the facts but said nothing about them.

A problem, insofar as Élisabeth Guigou has just been appointed to head a Commission on sexual violence against children.

“She did not know any of this, confides those around her to

20 Minutes

.

She admits that she rubbed shoulders with Olivier Duhamel in the 1990s. But she was unaware of all that.

"The former socialist minister could even use this affair as an example, always according to her entourage:" It shows that, like everyone else, she knew aggressors and victims ... "

Appointed at the head of this commission with a budget of 4 million euros in December, Élisabeth Guigou claims to have already started working by receiving several associations of victims.

She must complete the recruitment of her team by March.

Justice

Duhamel affair: The Paris prosecutor's office opens an investigation for "rape of a 15-year-old minor"

Media

"La Familia grande": Camille Kouchner accuses Olivier Duhamel of having abused his twin brother

  • Society

  • Political science

  • Books

  • Sexual violence

  • Incest

  • Rape