Sawt Falasteen - Frenchman on trial for killing ex-partner after years of alleged abuse

Speaking in court in the southwestern city of Bordeaux, Mickael Falou insisted he was not a violent man.

"I'm not going to initiate violence. But I can respond if I am attacked", the 40-year-old said when the presiding judge asked him to describe himself.

On July 2, 2021, the body of Sandra Pla, his 31-year-old former partner and mother of his daughter, was found in a pool of blood at her home in Bordeaux.

An autopsy revealed around fifty stab wounds, particularly to Pla's neck and face. A kitchen knife covered in blood was found at the scene.

Falou, whom she had left a few months earlier after a 10-year relationship, was arrested at his home in the Bordeaux suburb of Merignac. He was severely intoxicated.

"I didn't want to hurt Sandra, I didn't want to lose my daughter," Falou said. "I don't understand how all of this could have happened."

The case is the latest of several highlighting domestic abuse of women in France, in particular the recent conviction of a man who recruited dozens of strangers to rape his heavily drugged wife, Gisele Pelicot, in a trial that shocked the country.

Pla had repeatedly complained to the authorities about violence and harassment she had endured for years.

She even petitioned French President Emmanuel Macron and other top officials, warning she was going to end up "like those women who are killed by their husbands", according to Elsa Crozatier, a lawyer for the victim's family.

- 'Trivial disputes' -

In custody, Falou admitted to killing his daughter's mother but said he could not remember when he stabbed her.

"I admit to being the perpetrator of the crime but in no way did I intend to kill her", Falou said in court.

Investigators said Pla had lived "in fear" after she told Falou she was leaving him.

Falou told investigators he had never abused her before, saying there were "trivial disputes" but denying any violence.

Crozatier dismissed Falou's claims.

"We know this strategy. It's to say: 'It was a fit of rage, I didn't want to do it'. Except that doesn't hold water," she told AFP.

Falou said he had broken into Pla's house at around 4:30 am by climbing over the gate and hiding until she returned after taking their daughter to school.

According to Falou, he broke into her home to accuse her of lying to the police about the physical and psychological violence she had reported, allegedly to have him stripped of custody of their daughter.

"He denies and has always denied premeditation," said one of his lawyers, Elena Badescu.

Pla and Falou met in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie in 2010 and entered into a civil partnership three years later. It was "love at first sight," according to Falou.

- 'Not one more' -

In 2018, a year after the birth of their daughter, Pla began to confide in those close to her that he was being abusive.

She left Falou in 2020 despite his alleged hold over her, and for a few months Pla's parents moved into their daughter's home, where a video doorbell and a surveillance camera were installed.

Three days before Pla's death, Falou was taken into police custody and then placed under judicial supervision. He was banned from contacting her.

Around thirty people representing feminist groups staged a protest in front of the courthouse to denounce domestic abuse, with a large black banner that read "Not one more".

On average, a woman is killed every three days in France.

"Why don't we take action?" said Naima Charai, director of the National Women's Solidarity Federation.

"Why do we tolerate women being beaten, harassed and killed in their own homes, in France, in the 21st century?"

The trial continues until Friday.

T.Samara--SF-PST