"They spent their time playing with fire. At one point, it's very simple, when you play with fire, you get burned," Evreux prosecutor Dominique Puechmaille told AFP.

The couple, under house arrest in their property in Giverny (Eure) since March 2021, saw their placement under an electronic bracelet revoked by the courts on Thursday, thus paving the way for their placement in detention in the days to come.

In an eight-page judgment dated February 3, revealed by the daily Ouest-France and of which AFP obtained a copy, the Rouen Court of Appeal details the multiple breaches by Isabelle Balkany, 74, of the obligations which were imposed as part of his conviction for tax evasion.

The Balkany spouses "never accepted the constraints inherent in house arrest under electronic surveillance", considers the court, which notes their "vehement or ironic attitude and remarks, sometimes outrageous or even outrageous" towards the staff of the prison. prison administration or the sentence enforcement judge.

On June 11, 2021, during an interview with the prison integration and probation service (Spip), Ms. Balkany "had monopolized the floor and banged her fist on the table, addressed the director and the counselor (…) by calling them + chicks +, had given them an arm of honor and had unilaterally ended the meeting”, relate the judges.

On September 14, Spip again mentions "the opposing, condescending, even outrageous attitude" of Ms. Balkany, who, questioned about four alarms on her electronic bracelet, evokes "car problems" or "the need to go shopping ".

"For a quarter of an hour, they come to piss me off," she replies to the prison staff.

The former vice-president of the Hauts-de-Seine general council justifies seven other alarms by "hydrotherapy sessions forcing her to immerse the electronic bracelet in her bath".

Even before the installation of the electronic bracelet, Ms. Balkany had asked for her exit hours to be extended (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends) as well as an extension of the detention perimeter in order to "take out her three dogs every three hours and to feed his three cats, his sheep and his chickens" on a property of several hectares.

"Very comfortable income"

Above all, the Rouen Court of Appeal points out that the Balkany spouses did not respect their main obligation: "to pay the sums due to public finances, and this despite" a "very large tax debt".

The former mayor (LR) of Levallois-Perret, 73, and his wife owe 5.3 million euros to the tax authorities, in addition to a sum of 766,759 euros specific to Ms. Balkany.

However, they have "very comfortable incomes (more than 12,000 euros per month)" and "could have made their choice to reduce their current lifestyle (...) in order to settle the sums due", underlines the court, which lists their 500 m2 residence in Giverny, a "pied-à-terre" in Levallois and "a full-time domestic worker".

"It's impossible for them to respect something," commented Arnaud de Courson, historical opponent (DVD) to the Balkany in Levallois, to AFP.

"These are still convicted people who do not respect the rules. They have dipped into the public coffers and in addition they do not respect their sentence."

It was only two days before the hearing before the Rouen Court of Appeal that Ms. Balkany offered to pay 500 euros per month to the Public Treasury to reimburse the sums due for tax evasion.

Patrick Balkany, , and his wife Isabelle arrive at the Court of Cassation in Paris on May 5, 2021 2021leleur ARIS, LE May 5, 2021 Bertrand GUAY AFP/Archives

Isabelle Balkany was still hospitalized in Evreux on Friday morning, according to her husband, who said she had attempted suicide on Thursday.

"She's in the coaltar," he told AFP.

According to a judicial source, Mrs. Balkany "swallowed significant quantities of her usual treatment".

It is unlikely that the spouses will be incarcerated on Friday, according to the same source.

© 2022 AFP