On Tuesday evening, M6 broadcast a special episode ofCall to Witnesses devoted in particular to the Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès case. At the end of the program, Julien Courbet took a live call from a man identifying himself as the “Father Marc”, a priest linked to a monastery in Plavilla, in the Aude region. The man claimed to have met and heard Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès confess in 2022, more than ten years after the suspect's disappearance.
The witness claims to have had the bishop's approval.
On air, the man claiming to be a religious figure asserted that he was speaking with the authorization of Bishop Bruno Valentin of Carcassonne and Narbonne. He presented his account as possible recent proof of life for Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, who has been wanted since 2011 following the deaths of his wife and four children in Nantes. According to this testimony, the fugitive stayed four days in a monastery before returning to Grasse.
The bishop categorically denies it
The very next morning, Bishop Bruno Valentin denied having given any consent. He asserted that neither the man who appeared on air nor M6 had contacted him before the broadcast. The bishop denounced a lack of rigor and a misleading segment for the public. He also stated that he did not know any "Father Marc" in the community mentioned.
M6 admits to false testimony
In the afternoon, M6 acknowledged that the testimony was false. The channel explained that checks launched after the broadcast, combined with the bishop's denial, had established that it was a fabricated testimony. M6 apologized. "without reservation" to Bishop Bruno Valentin.
Julien Courbet admits to having been set up
Julien Courbet admitted the following morning that the show may have been tricked. "It could happen to you."In an interview broadcast on RTL and M6, he admitted that the man might have "rolled in flour"The host also reminded viewers that the show relies on calls from witnesses, with the risk that some accounts may turn out to be false.
The monastery was also cleared of any wrongdoing.
The account of the alleged priest was also disputed by the monastery in question. An official from the Plavilla community stated that there was no Brother or Father Marc in that community and that the story was entirely fabricated.
Arcom in the crosshairs
Bishop Bruno Valentin has announced his intention to file a complaint with Arcom, the French broadcasting regulator. He accuses M6 of associating his name with an unverified testimony and giving credence to a story that collapsed within hours. Speaking on CNews, the bishop deemed it scandalous that a channel would lend credence to false testimony in such a sensitive case.
A case already marred by false leads
Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès is suspected of murdering his wife and their four children in April 2011 in Nantes. Their five bodies were found buried under the terrace of the family home. Since his disappearance, several leads have been investigated, but none have led to his capture. The case has already seen numerous dramatic developments, including a false arrest in Scotland in 2019.
M6 maintains that the panelists had urged caution and that Julien Courbet had used the conditional tense before and after the call. However, the channel still had to publicly acknowledge the failure of its live fact-checking. The episode now places Call to Witnesses under pressure, at a time when the show has been claiming for several years its role in reopening unsolved criminal cases.
