Trial of Mimi Marchand's "blackmail" of Karine Le Marchand: 18-month suspended prison sentence for the "queen of the paparazzi"

The decision is harsher than the prosecution's demands. Paparazzi queen Mimi Marchand, on trial for charging TV host Karine Le Marchand to prevent the publication of stolen photos of her daughter, was sentenced this Tuesday, July 1st, to an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

In February 2020, Mimi Marchand, now 78, alerted the host of "Love is in the Meadow" that an unknown "young" photographer had tried to sell her photos of her underage daughter leaving police custody. She reassured her, saying she had "blocked" the photos by giving the photographer 3,000 euros.

In court in early June, Mimi Marchand admitted to having "lied" - the images had been taken by one of her regular paparazzi, Sébastien Valiela. "Thanks Mimi, I'll pay you back," replied a relieved Karine Le Marchand, before "reimbursing" the first part of the money advanced, 1,600 euros.

At the hearing a month ago, the prosecutor requested a one-year suspended prison sentence and a 20,000 euro fine for Mimi Marchand.

"She is trying to put her at her service by 'holding' her with photos of her daughter," the magistrate had accused. And Karine Le Marchand found herself "under an insidious moral constraint," "obliged," the magistrate had added, recalling that Mimi Marchand had after this "service" multiplied the requests to the presenter, maintaining a constant "pressure."

In her work and with a feeling of "omnipotence" , the boss of the first photo agency in France, Bestimage, "has put in place a strategy to create obligated people for herself" , the prosecutor continued. This is "dishonest, inglorious, absolutely immoral and in my opinion a crime", she continued.

For her part, Mimi Marchand's lawyer, Caroline Toby, had pleaded for her client's acquittal in a case that, in her opinion, was not worthy of a trial, let alone a conviction. Extortion, the offense charged against Mimi Marchand, "is coercion, threats, or violence," according to her. Citing friendly telephone conversations and lunches between the two protagonists after this event, Toby had asked : "Where and in what sequence of this little farce between two friends do we find the slightest trace of violence, pressure, or coercion?"

For her, her client "instantly wanted to protect" Karine Le Marchand by blocking the photos, but by doing so, she wanted to "benefit from the positive image of protector of powerful people" in the mind of the presenter.

Certainly, her client "did not act honestly", "accepted the 1,600 euros offered by Karine Le Marchand ", "it's not pretty" and "even petty", "but if it were necessary to file a lawsuit for all the pettiness in the world..." For Me Toby, Mimi Marchand "hastily improvised her little win-win plan with her dear Karine" , and "if Karine Le Marchand had not filed a complaint against the police, everyone would have been happier in this case".

Before the prosecution, Karine Le Marchand's lawyer had denounced Mimi Marchand's "mafia" operations, anything but the "unsmart old lady who doesn't earn much money and who regrets it" seen in court. When she "buys photos" so they won't be published—or pretends to—she "offers protection" to famous people who become indebted, argues Jean Ennochi.

He was demanding 10,000 euros in compensation for the damage suffered by the presenter, the same amount for his daughter, as well as reimbursement of the famous 1,600 euros.

In court, Karine Le Marchand, for her part, had ranted against the celebrity press "system" that she "hates." Bitterly, she described the "magnetic boxes" placed under her car to track her, the "seven paparazzi downstairs" at her house "with their little chairs" when she splits up with an ex-partner, the set-up where heart-shaped balloons are delivered to her as she leaves a restaurant on Valentine's Day to photograph her and headline about her "surprise from her lover" ...

So, she gritted, hearing Mimi Marchand swear before the magistrates that she has "morals" , that "adultery on glossy paper, I've never done it", Karine Le Marchand "cried with laughter".

The prosecutor had also requested a two-year suspended prison sentence, notably for breach of professional secrecy, against the police officer who had informed paparazzo Sébastien Valiela of the police custody, and a one-year suspended sentence against the latter for receiving stolen goods.