She arrived on February 14, 2024, shortly before noon, with her mother, Élisabeth, and her brothers, Simon and Benjamin, escorted by the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, at Place Vendôme. It is a very moved Judith Badinter, in tears, that the photographers immortalized at the national tribute which was paid this Wednesday to her father, Robert Badinter.
“I can’t sleep anymore, I’m going for a jog”
The former Minister of Justice, who abolished the death penalty in France, died at the age of 95. And the only daughter of the deceased, a psychoanalyst by profession, is no stranger to the general public. Indeed, his name had been mentioned in the press in 1987, narrowly escaping the news column. It was June that year. Aged 20, the young woman was spending the summer on the family property in Oise, and around 8:30 one morning, she decided to leave the Silly-Tillard mill, leaving this message for her brother: “I can’t sleep anymore, I’m going for a jog”.
A few hours later, and because she had still not returned, an alert was launched by a domestic worker. And because his father was then president of the Constitutional Council, the information was passed on to the Ministry of the Interior.
Result: a hundred gendarmes, three helicopters and police dogs were dispatched to find her. They then searched the surrounding area, and even inspected the nearby river and pond. No result. Finally, his father had returned to the vacation home, also worried. And it was at 1 a.m. that the young woman called home to assure her in person that she was well. In total, for 17 hours, all scenarios had been considered, including that of kidnapping, health problems, or even the accident…
“A totally private matter”
Everything except a romantic relationship… In fact, in order not to expose his offspring, Robert Badinter only made it known that it was “a totally private matter”. And the incident was closed.
F.A.