MONSIER LE PRESIDENT JUGE, Adrien Chapuis, was a man in his late fifties with a weathered face and flowing white hair. He placed a piece of paper before him and folded his hands, which were mostly obscured by the sleeves of his red robe.667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4UZxnKU94e
"On the day of nineteen June, 2010, this nation was attacked," he began, via the female translator in the women's ears. "No bomb was detonated. No building collapsed. No city burned. But we were attacked nevertheless.
"It was a day that will never be forgotten. Each of us will recall forever where we sat or stood when we learned of the death of the president of the French. Each of us will recall forever the sadness, the anger, and the fear. And the resolve that justice be served on those responsible for President Diderot's death.
"On that day, we did not belong to the Union for a Popular Movement or the Socialist Party or the National Front. We were not conservatives or liberals or greens. We were not white or black or brown. On that day we were only French. Together we suffered. Together we mourned. Together we moved on, changed forever but resolved to honor the legacy of President Diderot.
"And together we will find justice for the president and his bodyguard, Renaud Tissot. Together we will carry out these legal proceedings with careful deliberation, firm resolve, and heavy heart, but never forgetting that the ultimate end is justice. Because to do any less would be to disrespect the legacy of fairness and compassion that marked the public service of President Diderot.
The courtroom was utterly silent as the judge completed his statement. Cesar Diderot had been something of a rock star in this country, a flash soccer player in the '80s who dated actresses, heiresses and models, later ascending quickly through the ranks of public service. In 1996, he married Celemine Baudet, Miss France 1994 and fifteen years his junior, in a spectacular countryside wedding in the Loire Valley at a home owned by the family of his mentor, Francois Mitterrand. That same year he lost his race for the presidency but won in his second effort in 2003. He was reelected in 2008 in a landslide. With his gorgeous wife at his side and three young children, he was flamboyant, charismatic and controversial. Mischa had recalled various accounts of affairs and sexual exploits, but this wasn't exactly unexpected in a French president, and there had been no indication that the citizenry's affection for the man had dimmed whatsoever.
The actresses were accused of killing, by all accounts, the most popular president in the history of France. And now here was the presiding judicial officer at Mischa's trial, promising the country that there would be justice for his murder.667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9plm6DMFsW
Could it get much worse than that?667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAuhXYrwAF
Yes, it could. It could.667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jmvfiC9wk
"The court will now here from Major Picard," said the judge.667Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP4s88CXPfR
