Francis Save, young rugby hopeful, sentenced to 20 years’ criminal imprisonment

The verdict came after midnight. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, Frances Seve was sentenced by the Auxiliary Court of Lot-et-Geronne to twenty years of criminal imprisonment for the premeditated intentional murder of Zine Bettiche. Sentenced to compulsory psychiatric supervision, but not restricted to national territory. When the verdict was announced, one of the victim’s family members, who was unhappy with the sentence handed down, spoke loudly and clearly, necessitating his removal from the courtroom.

A few hours ago, the weekend did not allow the young rugby player to settle…

The verdict came after midnight. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, Frances Seve was sentenced by the Auxiliary Court of Lot-et-Geronne to twenty years of criminal imprisonment for the premeditated intentional murder of Zine Bettiche. Sentenced to compulsory psychiatric supervision, but not restricted to national territory. When the verdict was announced, one of the victim’s family members, who was unhappy with the sentence handed down, spoke loudly and clearly, necessitating his removal from the courtroom.

A few hours ago, the weekend did not allow the young rugby player to come to terms with his memories. Painstakingly, modest and sometimes absent, through his interpreter, the young man, attempted murder, tried on Monday March 18 to answer the court’s questions. ” I don’t remember. I’m not sure. » These two sentences come up again and again in the box on this last day of the trial.

On the night of May 21 to 22, 2021, Zine Bettiche, very drunk, screams and gestures in the street near the station, when his killer drives by in a car nearby. Exploration is flying. The accused turns around, comes back with the victim, and stops at the next passage. “You wait for it. for what », Questions to the President. “To fight. I was angry, and from his behavior, I understood that he was mean. I wanted to defend myself. Give him a lesson,” breathes Frances Save. “I was angry. I had lost everything… my club, my family. What I did is a disaster. I have to live with this for the rest of my life. »

The attack on Piketty Bridge lasts 27 seconds. On the question of premeditation, the president notes: “You wait for him at the top of the stairs, after taking the knife… Is this still a form of premeditation? » “I wanted to protect myself. I thought he was armed,” he says emphatically.

A menacing “Colossus”?

On the question of motive, Francis Seve gave fluctuating versions throughout the investigation. And during the trial. “Who would have thought that he, this colossus, athletic, solid, would feel a threat in the face of this alcoholic fifty-year-old (Zin Bettiche’s alcohol level was more than 3 grams per liter of blood, editor’s note)? », questions General Counsel Claude Darrens in front of the jury while pointing out the immaturity of the young rugby player. “He’s a kid. A hard-hitting kid. »

like this^is Bruneau, Delmouli, Vivier and Barateau, the four lawyers of the civil parties, agree: there is no room for doubt, it is an “experienced act”. “Don’t think Zine Bettiche was fighting that evening!” The council of the victim’s sisters and nephews stormed Laurent Bruneau. “Investigators were looking for a fight, a deal gone wrong… No, nothing! It’s rubbish. » According to Black Dress, Frances Sav wanted to “fight it out”. “Zine Betic did not present any danger. In Agen, he passed by, we saw him, he was a nice person, turned to others with his weaknesses. I think of alcohol, his evil genius,” M^E

Vivier.

Impaired conscience

Throughout the trial, there was talk of the journey of a fallen child, the violence of a teenage girl abandoned in the name of rugby passion. “Poor Sev is lost: he has a ghost family, who send him to the Northern Hemisphere, and who are not interested in his fate. Does he have the wherewithal to think? He is not stupid… but all he learns is: “How many years will all these people live me?”, analyzes the representative of the public prosecutor’s office. Which does not exclude recidivism, and requires thirty years of criminal imprisonment.

Francis is not Mediterranean. He is Tongan. We don’t have the same culture, the same assumptions, the same defects, the same diseases…”

Too high a sentence, object defense lawyers, who explain to jurors why it is necessary to go “below fifteen”. “Everyone who knew him told you he was helpful, respectful, polite, touching. » According to his advice, “Everything is to blame on him. But for him, it is difficult. Who stays alone all the time. ” like this^E Tomsini asserts: “In 2021, in his life, nothing works. It’s not good. It is inactive. That evening, he saw Mr. Bettiche’s actions as an insult, an assault. Francis is not Mediterranean. He is Tongan. We do not have the same culture, the same assumptions, the same defects, the same diseases…”

After being admitted to the Cadillac Psychiatric Unit in 2023, the former rugby hopeful was, in fact, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in January 2024. Experts who examined him a few months after the fact did not find such pathology. “His actions have nothing to do with schizophrenia,” psychiatrist Blandin ruled in court. An expert psychologist does not exclude that some of the fragility noted at that time, including his lack of empathy, his coldness, his emotional distance, are the beginnings of the illness.

like this^E Marilou Sewall, who requests a change of discretion. “Francis is not a person who believes. » From now on, he explains that “his head is getting hot, and suddenly he feels something click. He says he saw red that night. And, finally, it’s consistent with everything the experts tell us. »