Overview

• At the Besançon assize court on October 2, witnesses described three unexplained intraoperative cardiac arrests at the Polyclinic of Franche‑Comté in April and June 2009.
• Anesthesiologist Jacques Pignard testified he ordered an IV bag seized after the third case, with analyses reporting abnormally high potassium and very large doses of adrenaline.
• A prosecutorial inquiry opened after the 2009 events mentioned Frédéric Péchier but was closed in 2012 for an unknown perpetrator because he was not present for two of the three incidents.
• Following new suspicious arrests in 2017 at Clinique Saint‑Vincent, investigators said they now suspect pre‑operative contamination of infusion bags dating back to 2009.
• The defense argued such tampering would have been visible due to loss of vacuum and faulted uneven use of absence as an alibi, while Péchier maintains his innocence with a verdict due December 19.