Marie Portolano has stood by her accusations against Pierre Ménès . Sued for defamation by the former Canal+ commentator , the journalist appeared Monday before the 17th chamber of the Paris criminal court . In court, she described the actions she claims to have suffered while they worked together, even recounting the behavior she accuses him of during her pregnancy.
Pierre Ménès was absent from the hearing. As we explained before the trial , the former pundit had requested a postponement for medical reasons. The court decided to proceed with the proceedings. The verdict will be delivered on November 4.
"When I was pregnant, he checked every week to see if my breasts had grown."
This was one of the most powerful statements of the hearing. Marie Portolano recounted to the court the behavior she attributes to Pierre Ménès when she was pregnant : "When I was pregnant, he would check every week to see if my breasts had grown during my pregnancy."
The journalist claims that these behaviors were part of a pattern of gestures and attitudes that led her to constantly try to avoid her colleague. She says she adopted a "permanent avoidance strategy" with Pierre Ménès.
"He often touched my buttocks or my breasts."
Marie Portolano also maintained her accusations of non-consensual physical contact before the judges : "I was often touched by Pierre Ménès. I had adopted an avoidance strategy. He often touched my buttocks or my breasts."
According to her, her protests were not enough to stop this behavior : "No matter how much I told him that it made me uncomfortable, that it was unpleasant, he just laughed."
Marie Portolano also asserts that she was not the only woman confronted with this type of behavior in Pierre Ménès' professional environment.
"The real culprits are the people who let him do it."
The journalist, however, refused to limit her testimony to the case of the former Canal Football Club commentator alone . In court, she directly implicated the professional environment which, according to her, allowed such behavior to persist : "For me, he's like a child who was never told what he wasn't allowed to do. He's guilty, but the real culprits are the people who let him get away with it."
This statement directly relates to the subject she wanted to address in her documentary " I'm Not a Slut, I'm a Journalist!" , released in 2021 and dedicated to sexism in sports journalism : "My documentary wasn't intended to denounce it and point the finger at it, but to show that it's difficult to be a woman in a male-dominated environment, especially in a sports newsroom."
Marie Portolano revisits the skirt incident
The hearing also provided an opportunity to revisit one of the most well-known episodes in the conflict between the two former Canal+ personalities. The alleged incident dates back to August 28, 2016, on the set of Canal Football Club . After the show, the team was to pose for a photograph with Antoine Griezmann , the guest that evening. Marie Portolano claims that Pierre Ménès lifted her skirt in front of the audience : "We all gathered to take a picture with Antoine Griezmann, our guest, and at that moment, Pierre lifted my skirt."
The journalist recounts reacting immediately and leaving the set in a furious rage. This episode gained national attention several years later with the documentary " I'm Not a Slut, I'm a Journalist!" . A filmed confrontation between Marie Portolano and Pierre Ménès was removed from the version initially broadcast by Canal+, before the footage became public.
Images of the confrontation projected in court
This confrontation was shown to the judges during the hearing. Marie Portolano directly questions Pierre Ménès about the skirt incident. The former pundit claims not to remember it. Facing his former colleague, he notably says : "Did that humiliate you? Oh well, I'm sorry."
The images caused a major controversy when they were revealed in 2021 and contributed to the definitive break between Pierre Ménès and Canal+.
Why is Marie Portolano being warned?
The trial of September 7th has an important peculiarity: it was not Pierre Ménès who was being tried, but Marie Portolano.
The former consultant filed a defamation lawsuit following the publication, in March 2024, of the book " I Am the Woman on the Set ." In it, the journalist recounts her experience in the world of sports journalism and addresses the behavior she attributes to her former colleague.
Two passages are contested. Pierre Ménès is not explicitly named, but believes he is perfectly identifiable. The proceedings led to Marie Portolano being charged with defamation following a complaint filed by Pierre Ménès.
In court, Marie Portolano maintained the description given in her book: "As soon as I was in contact with him, he would either touch my breasts or he would touch my buttocks."
She also used a particularly crude expression: "He had a right of first night, that's really what we used to say among ourselves."
The prosecutor's office considers Marie Portolano to be acting "in good faith".
One of the important elements of the hearing came from the prosecution. The prosecutor considered that Marie Portolano had a "sufficient factual basis" for making the disputed statements and that she had made her accusations "in good faith".
Several testimonies have been produced to support the journalist's statements. Among them is that of Hervé Mathoux, long-time presenter of Canal Football Club and present during the 2016 episode denounced by Marie Portolano.
The lawyer for the journalist and Stock publishing house, Christophe Bigot, described the procedure as "abusive and despicable, consisting of prosecuting one's victim ." He requested that Pierre Ménès be convicted of abusing the right to file a civil suit.
"The whole forest is hidden behind the tree."
Marie Portolano also explained why she chose to revisit this story several years after her documentary : "I wrote this book because I was unhappy with the fact that the whole forest is hidden behind the tree, and that the tree is him."
Her goal, she states, was to tell the story of a system that goes far beyond the single case of Pierre Ménès and the difficulties faced by women in some sports newsrooms. She emphasizes the responsibility she attributes to those who witnessed certain behaviors without intervening: "He is guilty, but the real culprits are the people who let him do it."
Pierre Ménès is also due to stand trial on November 16th
The two proceedings should not be confused. The trial on September 7th concerned the defamation lawsuit filed by Pierre Ménès against Marie Portolano. The court therefore did not have to decide, in this case, whether the sexual assault alleged by the journalist had actually occurred.
Pierre Ménès himself is due to be tried on November 16 before the Nanterre court in a separate proceeding concerning the alleged facts denounced by Marie Portolano.
The former columnist was also previously sentenced in April 2023 to two months' suspended imprisonment for a sexual assault committed in 2018 against a saleswoman at a Nike store on the Champs-Élysées . He was acquitted on two other charges examined during that trial and appealed his conviction.
Verdict on November 4th
After the hearings, the court reserved its decision. The judgment in the defamation case will be delivered on November 4, 2026. The court will then determine whether the disputed passages in Marie Portolano's book can be considered defamatory or whether the journalist can benefit from the defenses provided by press law.
A few days later, the legal case between the two former colleagues will have a second hearing, this time with Pierre Ménès in the position of the accused.
