Ménès Trial: Portolano Stands by Accusations and Denounces Those Who 'Let Him Do It'

Marie Portolano maintained all her accusations against Pierre Ménès during the defamation hearing held Monday at the Paris court, in the complete absence of the plaintiff.

The 63-year-old journalist had requested a postponement for medical reasons, which the court refused. More surprisingly, he was not even represented by his lawyer, Me Chloé Redon, who was retained to plead in detention. A situation deemed unprecedented by Me Christophe Bigot, Portolano’s lawyer: “Right now, like this, I have no recollection of a situation that would be equivalent in the history of the case law of the 17th chamber,” he told the court.

Ménès takes issue with his former Canal Football Club colleague over two passages from her book Je suis la femme du plateau, published in March 2024. At the stand, Portolano confirmed and expanded on the facts she describes. “He considers the women around him as objects,” she notably stated. “When I was pregnant, he would check every week if I had gained breasts during my pregnancy.” She also broadened her criticism beyond Ménès alone: “For me, he’s a child who was never told what he wasn’t allowed to do. He is guilty, but the real guilty ones are the people who let him do it.”

The judgment has been adjourned to November 4, 2026. Pierre Ménès must also appear on November 16 before the Nanterre court for sexual assault, for facts dating back to 2016.