The Canal Saint-Martin is the Paris setting for a decisive encounter between Alexandre Farel and Mila Wizman after she has accused him of rape. When Alexandre approaches her there, the encounter escalates, witnesses call the police, and his judicial supervision is revoked; he is imprisoned at Fresnes while awaiting trial. The canal thus marks a turning point in the case, connecting its earlier investigation to Alexandre’s detention and the public trial that follows.

The encounter and its consequences

Alexandre’s chance meeting with Mila takes place after he has received notice that his trial will be held five months later. He approaches her unexpectedly, and she screams. He becomes aggressive; when she tries to flee, crying out in terror, he catches her by the shoulders and shakes her, supposedly to calm her. Passersby call the police, and Alexandre is arrested. The account presents the encounter as a concrete breach in the period of conditional liberty that had followed his initial arrest.

From judicial supervision to imprisonment

Before the encounter, Alexandre had been placed under judicial supervision rather than held in custody. He could not approach Mila or leave France, and the pending case repeatedly disrupted his studies and daily life. After the Canal Saint-Martin incident, his supervision is revoked and he is sent to Fresnes. His imprisonment changes the circumstances in which he approaches trial: he arrives exhausted, behind glass, handcuffed and escorted by gendarmes, with the public and press watching.

A site in the story of the case

The canal episode sits between the investigation and the assize trial, making the location a hinge in the legal narrative rather than a mere Paris landmark. The trial revisits the events of the night of January 11–12, 2016 through police testimony and evidence, including Mila’s early complaint and the forensic findings. The later encounter at the canal does not resolve the dispute about that earlier night; instead, it has an immediate procedural consequence for Alexandre and becomes part of the path that brings him to court.

Private events and public attention

The case repeatedly escapes the privacy its participants seek. News of Alexandre’s arrest is reported by Agence France-Presse, and journalists relay Jean Farel’s remarks on social media; within minutes, hundreds of comments appear. Mila also publishes an account on a newly created blog, setting her version against Alexandre’s. In this broader pattern, the Canal Saint-Martin encounter is a public-facing turning point: passersby summon the police, and the consequences feed into a case already shaped by investigation, media coverage, and competing accounts.