“Of course, I suffered, but like all children who grow up with a father in prison”: Simon Paulu Ferrandi was 4 years old when his father was arrested in 1999. Alain Ferrandi, considered the “leader” of the commando which assassinated the prefect Erignac in Ajaccio, in 1998. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, as Yvan Colonna and Pierre Alessandri. And after Yvan Colonna, whose particularly reported detainee status (DPS) was lifted after the attack of which he was the victim, the two other members of the commando also saw this status lifted, Friday March 11, after nine days of tension in Corsica.
>> Aggression of Yvan Colonna in prison: why the situation of Corsican detainees causes tension
After 22 and a half years of separation, the families now see the prospect of a rapprochement between the detainees. Because if Simon Paulu Ferrandi has “suffered”, there is a difference with other children of prisoners: the status of DPS which kept his father away in prisons in the north of France – Clairvaux, Lille, Poissy – imposed rare and limited contacts and no possibility of permission. Today, after the lifting of this status, Simon Paulu Ferrandi was able to speak to his father. “He was happy, he confides to franceinfo. Then we wait for the sequel. They lifted the status, it’s a first step. We have been asking for a possible conditional sentence for four years now, which was accepted by the sentence enforcement judge. Of course, we are thinking about liberation now.”
Alain Ferrandi is eligible for a semi-freedom measure in view of his behavior in prison. And like Pierre Alessandri, another member of the commando, he has been eligible for parole since May 2017. His possible transfer from Poissy to Borgo prison, near Bastia, now possible, could be accompanied by a sentence adjustment measure. “Their prison career speaks for them, assures Simon Paulu Ferrandi. They never had a problem in prison, they always behaved in an exemplary way, they work. They served their sentence and we are waiting for this release.”
During his visits to prison Simon Paulu Ferrandi wanted to speak with his father about the assassination of the prefect Erignac. He confirms today the regrets of the one who was then the organizer of the commando. “He said clearly that he was sorry. We think of the pain of the family, it’s obvious. Today, we are not here to re-judge or to redo the history of what happened. Today, we are here to say that justice is over. The goal of prison in France is reintegration. They can benefit from it, there is no reason why they should not. .”
While the families await the transfer to Borgo of the detainees, the appeal court will examine the appeal of the national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office (Pnat) on the adjustment of the sentence with a semi-freedom regime granted by the court for the enforcement of terrorism sentences to Alain Ferrandi, who is now 61 years old.