1981 – The murder of Judge Pierre Michel

In 1981, Marseille was shaken by the murder of Judge Pierre Michel. Philippe Vouland, then a young lawyer, was often appointed by the court to defend drug addicts whose cases were handled by the judge. The case left its mark on Philippe Vouland, not only because of his relationship with the judge, but also because of its media and judicial impact. Philippe Vouland had built up a professional and respectful relationship with Pierre Michel. He could not agree to defend those accused of his murder. The media and judicial frenzy surrounding the case made any defence extremely difficult.

On 21 October 1981, Pierre Michel, an investigating judge at the Marseille courthouse, was shot dead in the street. His killers sped away through the neighbouring streets. Judge Patrick Guérin was appointed to investigate the murder of his colleague. For many months he combed through all of Michel’s sensitive files.

The day after his murder, Pierre Michel was due to hold a crucial meeting with a henchman imprisoned after the dismantling of a heroin processing laboratory, who was to make revelations about the involvement of the local godfather, Gaëtan Zampa.

48 hours after the killing, the killers’ motorbike was found. The fingerprint of Charles Giardina, a small-time local crook, was identified on it. He could not have been one of the killers, but surveillance showed that he was linked to a veteran of the underworld, Gilbert Ciaramaglia, a henchman of the notorious godfather Gaëtan Zampa.

After a two-year manhunt, Zampa was arrested and imprisoned. The godfather denied everything, but hanged himself. The investigation only got going again four years later, when a heroin laboratory was dismantled in Switzerland. One of the traffickers gave up those responsible for Michel’s murder: the rider was Charles Altiéri, the killer François Cecchi, and the man who ordered the killing was not Zampa but François Girard.

The killer signed a confession, explaining that he had not known who his victim was. François Girard, then held at Les Baumettes prison, denied any involvement. On 16 June 1988, the trial opened, but some of the accused were missing from the dock. The man who ordered the killing and the killer continued to protest their innocence, but in vain. The jurors sentenced François Girard and François Cecchi to life imprisonment with an 18-year minimum term. The rider, who had gone on the run, was arrested five years later and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The cases of the defendants initially implicated in the affair were severed and heard by the criminal court. Philippe Vouland had to navigate a climate of intense emotion, in which the justice system seemed deaf to the arguments of the defence. Two receivers of stolen goods were for a time treated like the worst murderers, showing the challenges of mounting a defence in an emotionally charged context.

In 2014, the killer and the rider were released on parole. In 2017, it was the turn of François Girard, who had ordered Pierre Michel’s death, to be released on health grounds.

This experience, both formative and traumatic, enabled Philippe Vouland to understand the media and judicial dynamics at play in high-profile cases, strengthening his skills and resilience as a lawyer.

Watch Philippe Vouland’s talk at the Court of Cassation on the life and death of Judge Pierre Michel (in French): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axe1z1h-T8s&t=2s