Yaël Mellul Interview | Alexandre Gilbert #313

Yaël Mellul created the offense of psychological domestic violence, incorporated into the law of July 9, 2010. On January 29, 2020, the law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence was adopted by the National Assembly, introducing an aggravating circumstance under Article 222-33-2-1 of the Penal Code: “Penalties are increased to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of €150,000 when the harassment has driven the victim to suicide or to attempt suicide.” In 2021, she published Mon combat contre l’emprise et le suicide forcé (My Fight Against Coercive Control and Forced Suicide) with Michel Laffont.  Forced suicide is at the heart of the series The Laura Stern Case, aired on France TV and starring Valérie Bonneton.

Yaël Mellul : At that time, I was at home. Revelations were already beginning to emerge about what appeared to be a global pedocriminal network. We learned that Epstein had an apartment on Avenue Foch in Paris, that he was connected to Brunel, who was known for recruiting models. I told myself there was absolutely no reason for what was happening in the United States not to be happening in France as well. I couldn’t see why it would stop at the French border. The idea that Epstein would arrive in France and suddenly cease all criminal activity seemed implausible. It simply wasn’t possible.

Information was coming out, yet nothing seemed to be happening. This was after Epstein’s suicide in prison. I was convinced that his apartment on Avenue Foch had to contain incriminating evidence. For me, it was obvious, and I could not understand why no search had been conducted there. The longer authorities delayed, the more time his accomplices would have to clean everything up. That seemed self-evident. That is why I filed a report with the public prosecutor.

At the time, I was absolutely the only person in France denouncing Epstein’s actions. I even spoke out before Innocence en Danger did. I gave many interviews, particularly to France Info, because Radio France’s investigative unit was working extensively on the case. I collaborated with them, which is how I obtained documents related to the real estate company owning the Avenue Foch property. I submitted them to the Paris court, urging them to act quickly to seize the apartment, especially in view of potential damages for civil parties and victims. Nothing was done.

What is astonishing—no, frightening—is what we now know from the Epstein Files. I know today what the French authorities did from the opening of the investigation up to Brunel’s suicide. Brunel fled France before eventually being arrested, and once in custody, he too committed suicide, like Epstein. During that time, there was a search at Avenue Foch. We now know that officers were reportedly disturbed by what they saw—photographs of young girls everywhere. They examined 3,500 emails. When we consider that the Epstein Files contain around three million emails, and that only a tiny fraction has become public, we can imagine the potential gravity of what those 3,500 emails may have contained. Yet the case was closed due to the extinction of public action following Brunel’s death. That is not how it should work. Brunel did not act alone in France, and we know that now. I later discovered there was another recruiter in addition to him.

How can anyone believe that those emails contained no indication of criminal conduct?

Yaël Mellul : It is inconceivable. Eight women who said they were victims of Epstein and Brunel were interviewed by investigators. And then it stopped. Factually, despite the exceptional gravity of the case and the evidence gathered, it was buried. I am convinced that what comes next will prove me right. We are only at the beginning of the revelations. There are so many documents that they are bound to emerge gradually. For now, it is journalists doing the work. In France, no real investigation has been opened. We recently learned that a woman filed a complaint against this newly identified recruiter, but that is all.

When I hear the Minister of Justice say, “If a complaint is filed, the prosecutor will open an investigation,” that is simply standard criminal procedure. But the Ministry of Justice has the authority, under Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to report facts to the public prosecutor when it becomes aware of potential offenses. Why was this not done? Other matters have been referred. Why not this one? Especially when we are talking about sexual violence and crimes against children. Back in 2019 and 2020, media reports stated that Brunel had sent twelve-year-old twin girls from France to Epstein, and that Epstein responded that they did not speak English. Nothing followed. Who were those girls? Are they alive? Were they ever identified? We are supposed to believe that investigators found only eight victims in France, while there were hundreds in the United States, in a system where victims were pressured to recruit others?

As for Jack Lang, I hope justice will finally take its course. Today, what we see is primarily financial investigations. It is the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office handling the matter. There is far less focus on the pedocriminal, prostitution, or trafficking aspects. Since 2019, there has also been a wave of conspiracy theories surrounding international pedophile networks. I refuse to conflate the Epstein case with conspiracy narratives. I am speaking strictly from what I have observed since 2019. The reality already exceeds the worst imaginable scenarios. Hundreds of victims, including minors, worldwide. A network of powerful individuals using influence and wealth to dominate women and children. That is what the facts show. I do not read conspiracy theories. I never have. The documented facts are already extraordinary.

When I compare this to cases like Mazan-Pélicot, I see two sides of the same phenomenon: the banality of evil on one hand—ordinary men exploiting a vulnerable woman—and on the other, the abuse of power by those who believe themselves untouchable. Together, these cases reflect something broader about domination and abuse.

What response did the institutions give after your report?

Yaël Mellul : None. I spoke extensively in the media, but I personally received no response. There was an investigation, calls for witnesses, searches, interviews. Then the case was closed following Brunel’s death. Yet a criminal file is dynamic. New offenses and perpetrators can emerge. New investigations can be opened. That did not happen.

Recently, Mediapart reported that the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs remained passive for thirteen years regarding suspicions involving a diplomat cited in the Epstein Files. According to the article, French justice had never been notified by the ministry before February 10, something you had already requested in 2019.

Yaël Mellul: That silence effectively granted impunity and allowed the individual concerned to continue rising within the highest levels of the state. If the FBI flagged him and expelled him from the United States for consulting child pornography, how could there have been no follow-up in France? If there is no consequence and the person continues to advance, it suggests protection that goes beyond silence.

As for Laurent Nunez filing a complaint against Alain Soral over claims of a “Jewish mafia,” is-he right to do so?

Yaël Mellul  Yes, this is precisely the danger: such cases provide fuel for antisemitic hatred. We are not dealing with religions; we are dealing with individuals. Invoking a “Jewish mafia” is indefensible. I myself filed a complaint against Alain Soral around 2016 or 2017, after he targeted me with an article and unleashed a wave of antisemitic insults, death threats, and rape threats against me. It was one of the rare times in my life when I truly feared for my safety. These individuals exploit cases like Epstein, Weinstein, or DSK as pretexts to spread antisemitic hatred. They must be confronted without leniency.