Former Sciences Po Director and Filmmaker Both Receive Suspended Sentences for Domestic Violence

Mathias Vicherat and Anissa Bonnefont were sentenced to five and eight months of suspended prison terms, respectively, after mutual accusations of domestic violence over a contentious relationship.

Mathias Vicherat, former director of Sciences Po, and filmmaker Anissa Bonnefont were convicted of domestic violence by a Paris court and received suspended prison sentences of five and eight months, respectively.
The court prohibited the former couple from contacting each other for three years, citing a toxic and dysfunctional relationship marked by repeated violent incidents in 2023.
Bonnefont was found guilty of multiple instances of violence, including slapping Vicherat and causing psychological harm, while Vicherat was convicted of non-injurious violence through strangulation during a July 2023 altercation.
Vicherat was acquitted of allegations related to a fractured wrist incident due to insufficient evidence, while Bonnefont admitted to certain violent acts but disputed others.
Both legal teams expressed dissatisfaction with the verdict, with Vicherat's lawyers announcing an appeal and Bonnefont's counsel condemning the decision as unjust.