They are twenty women, including two from the back, who came to testify to the violence of which they were victims on the part of Patrick Poivre d’Arvor (PPDA). Some have been victims of sexual assault, harassment, others of rape. But all their testimonies are poignant. They were reunited for the first time this Tuesday evening on the Mediapart set. The testimonies of two other women, not present on the spot, were also broadcast. For its part, PDDA refused the media’s invitation to participate in the show.
Among them, some, like Justine Ducharne, had never spoken. “It is indeed the first time that I speak on this affair, on this horror that he made me undergo. Until then, I preferred to remain in hiding, because I preferred to reserve my word for justice. I also hope to be heard again, re-auditioned. I had testified quite quickly near the issue of « Quotidien », to support the word of Florence Porcel. I knew she was telling the truth. Because I had experienced it myself. I thought I was alone in 1995. I had gone there in this process of support. Since then I have come a long way. Many thanks to these exceptional women whom I met in these terrible circumstances. I would like to be able to talk to the police about it again and explain to them all the consequences that it can have in a life”.
“We are sisters in misfortune”
The affair broke out in February 2021 with the testimony of Florence Porcel in The Parisian and a complaint for acts of rape dating from 2004 and 2009. In total and since this first complaint, 17 complaints have been lodged against the former presenter of the JT of TF1. For its part, PPDA denies the accusations and has filed a complaint with civil action for slanderous denunciation against 16 women. On the Daily set, PPDA denied the charges against him. « It’s an accusation that revolts me, » he said.
“We are sisters in misfortune”, declared all these victims present on the set of Mediapart. On several occasions, they testify to their shame, their unease about the facts of which they have been victims. “A rape is complicated to talk about with the friendly, professional entourage. Some turn away. I have chosen to be anonymous until then, because I am afraid to experience things in an even more painful way than the way I have experienced them so far when speaking today, ”said the one of them. The investigation to which Mediapart had access describes a systemic modus operandi on the part of PPDA, portrayed as a predator who abuses its notoriety, uses intrusive questions and acts brutally.
A modus operandi
This operating mode is described by each of the women present on the set this Tuesday, May 10. Thus, Armelle Hervieu, a 43-year-old freelance journalist, recounts her meeting with PPDA at the age of 24, in 2003, when she suffered from anorexia, like her daughter Solène who ended her life in 1995. « He took my face in his hands and forced a kiss on me and I cringed and he said to me like a little boy, ‘It’s not right what I did’… She rewritten when he pulls out books about his daughter’s anorexia to tell her again about the stolen kiss which she describes as an unhealthy encounter that he may well pay for one day ». PPDA will respond to him by evoking an affectionate gesture intended to restore his confidence. “He just showed me that you could be a star of the JT and a scumbag. He has no right to use Solène to take advantage of vulnerable young girls.
« When Armelle says it’s a predator, it’s yes, » adds Charlotte Crenn, who met Patrick Poivre d’Arvor on a train. The 29-year-old tells how he invited her for coffee at his house. “We go down to see his books in the basement and when I turn around he is two centimeters from my face and there I was scared. I was frozen. He took his hands away, he said to me ‘you have very beautiful eyes’ and ‘we are going to take our leave’”.
TF1 singled out
Fetishization, consent, vulnerability… These 20 women recount through their painful testimonies the consequences on a personal and professional level. « Talking in the middle of the TV, it was the certainty of being pulverized. I was grilled forever at TF1, I left », says Hélène Devynck, former assistant to the presenter.
Several attacks described took place in the office of PPDA at TF1. The company’s management, contacted by Mediapart, replied that it communicated from the start of the case « to establish free expression, particularly within the editorial staff », insisting on its moral commitment against sexual violence. at work. A position deemed insufficient by the unions of the CGT, which criticizes the channel for not having expressed itself publicly. For his part, Nonce Paolini, former boss of TF1 supports the approach of the women who have testified. « I hope they can get the opportunity to have their case reviewed by the courts, » he said on the show.