STORY – Philippe François, ex-Saint-Cyrien converted to the private sector in Madagascar, was sentenced without proof in 2021 to ten years of forced labor for an alleged putsch attempt, after a botched trial. Since then, he has languished in a fetid prison, where the Quai d’Orsay seems to have forgotten him…
Will Philippe François’ nightmare finally end on August 26? That day, the Court of Cassation of Antananarivo (Madagascar) must rule on his case, as complex as it is sensitive. This brilliant Saint-Cyrian, reconverted into the private sector after twenty-five years of good and loyal service in the Marine troops (he holds the Cross of Military Valor and the War Cross of theaters of external operations), had moved to Madagascar in 2020. There he met the Franco-Malagasy Paul Maillot, like him from Saint-Cyr but from a previous promotion. The two men team up in a gold mining project. A sector almost monopolized by the entourage of President Andry Rajoelina.
Another problem: Paul Maillot has political ambitions, which is frowned upon by an autocratic and willingly paranoid power. Noting that his business is not progressing, Philippe François chooses to return permanently to France in order to resume his former position in logistics.
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