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The "Michaelthon". At the beginning of the 2000s, the frequent televiewers of the emission Everybody speaks about it presented by Thierry Ardisson on France 2 remember it. They have not forgotten the story of this Frenchman, Michael Blanc, sentenced to life in Bali for drug trafficking. After 14 years spent in an Indonesian prison, the man, now 45 years old, will be able to return to France, reports Le Parisien Tuesday, and this since Saturday, July 21, date on which the Balinese authorities will let him go again. "We are in the last stages of departure, just a few days before the big day," his mother, Hélène Le Touzey, told the newspaper.
Two diving bottles and almost 4 kilos of hashish
It all started in 1999, when Michaël Blanc, a young chef from Haute-Savoie who became globetrotter, decided to move to Bali to work in scuba diving. On December 27 that year, he was arrested at the Denpasar airport in Bali, Indonesia. He is in possession of two scuba tanks, filled with almost 4 kilograms of hashish. He claims that it was a friend who entrusted him with these bottles, in Goma, India.
Pbaded the death penalty, he was sentenced to life on 16 November 2000. The Indonesian authorities wanted to set an example. It follows a rare mediatization of his case, Thierry Ardisson evoking weekly in his show on Saturday night. The TV host even organizes an auction of objects that belonged to personalities – Joey Starr, Johnny Hallyday, Fabrice Santoro, Coluche, etc. – to finance his detention and the installation of the young French mother in Bali.
Hélène Le Touzey leaves home and professional activity to badist her son. Over the years, she became a consular attaché and, in particular, defended French nationals imprisoned in Indonesia. "I will accompany Michael for his return, but I will return to live in Indonesia," she also said to Parisien .
Chirac, Sarkozy, Fillon involved
At the At the time, the French authorities fear that this mediatization will complicate the fate reserved for the young Frenchman. Several political figures are involved, including Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who is trying to negotiate a transfer of the prisoner in France. Jacques Chirac writes himself to the Indonesian president. Michaël Blanc's mother never lost hope. In June 2007, she wrote to Nicolas Sarkozy just elected to ask him to "do not forget" his son.
Finally, on December 15, 2008, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intervenes in the case and reduces the sentence to 20 years in prison. In March 2009, on "recommendation of the Minister of Justice" of Indonesia and for "good behavior", the reduction becomes effective.
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I wish it would have happened sooner, but I am very happy that it did not arrive later
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The case is still mentioned by Prime Minister François Fillon during a visit to Indonesia in July 2011, during which he met Hélène Le Touzey. He finally received a conditional release on January 20, 2014, with an obligation to remain in the territory until the end of his sentence, July 21, 2018. It is therefore this deadline that comes to an end on Saturday. 19659005] In January 2014, Thierry Ardisson had for the first time been able to exchange with Michaël Blanc by phone and did not hide his emotion. "It's upsetting," he said at the time. The host then explained that he had recognized himself in the history of the young French. "When I was twenty and a few years, I myself spent a lot of time in the area, on the side of Bali," he said, explaining that for this reason he had "felt close to Michael and his distress ". "I wish it was sooner, but I'm very glad it did not happen later," he said. The two men will now be able to meet in France.
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