In a criminal trial, one of the most eagerly awaited moments is the personality examination, when the accused looks back on their childhood, their adult years; their life, in short, to shed light on their actions. But how can we qualify what happened on Monday, March 3, when Joël Le Scouarnec stood up in the dock before the criminal court in Vannes? For five hours, during this interrogation, the court, the prosecution and the lawyers tried to get him to talk about himself, one after the other, as if in search of a safe's key.

Since the start of his trial on February 24, 74-year-old Le Scouarnec, accused of rapes and sexual assaults on 299 victims (mostly children), has never lost his polite, aloof manners. Even his tears have been quiet. This time, he grabbed the microphone and everyone thought: Would he finally drop his defenses?

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