Orelli Filippetti ‘definitely’ wins case against her ex-husband, economist Thomas Piketty

“Today, Thomas Piketty was finally convicted of defaming me publicly,” Oreli Filippetti wrote this Wednesday, September 13, in X. The Court of Cassation upheld the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal. The former minister of culture fought for four years against his former companion, whom he accused of defaming him at a conference in Toulouse in 2019.

Ten years ago, in 2009, Aureli Filippetti filed a complaint against the economist for domestic violence. While the complaint was dismissed, Thomas Piketty was nevertheless reminded of the law and sent a letter of apology admitting the facts he was accused of. However, when questioned about the affair ten years later at a conference at the Institute for Political Studies (IEP) in Toulouse, he defended himself as follows: (born from the author’s previous union with an economist Natalie Moyne, Editor’s Note)”. Words that were perceived by the elected official as “new violence that he used against me after ten years of repeated episodes of physical and verbal abuse”, immediately starting a second legal battle, this time for defamation.

Domestic violence in the video. “I know what I’m talking about,” insists Avro Berge

Appeal: Court of Cassation

On 25 May 2022, Thomas Piketty was ordered to pay a symbolic €1 to his ex-partner in damages, as well as €3,500 in court costs. However, a few months later, he applied to the Court of Cassation, an appeal mechanism that allows him to challenge the court’s decision. “There is enormous pressure to silence women who speak out. (…) Coincidentally, Thomas Piketty’s cassation appeal was just informed to me a few days after he appeared on the TV show,” Aureli Filippetti then asked in an interview at At. Sunday newspaperOctober 9, 2022: “A maneuver so that he can make people believe that the verdict is not final,” he estimated at the dawn of the third legal battle.

This new edition therefore ends a four-year struggle for Aureli Filippetti, who can now boast that he has “finally” cleared his honor in this case. Many netizens hailed her victory. “I support you”; “Never give up despite pressure”; “I hope this will really help in the fight against violence against women,” we can read in the comments. The researcher and writer is currently campaigning to promote his latest essay, written with his wife Julia Cage, History of political conflictpublished by Éditions du Seuil.

In the video, Aurelie Filippetti claims she was “sanctioned” for refusing Jerome Cahuzac’s “persistent advances”.