Mick Hartley

Today Bertrand Cantat, lead singer of Noir Désir, is freed:

France’s most popular rock star, Bertrand Cantat, will walk free from jail today after serving half of an eight-year sentence for battering to death his actress girlfriend, Marie Trintignant, in a jealous rage four years ago.

Cantat, 43, is to be released on parole from jail near the south-western city of Toulouse after judges ruled yesterday that he had fulfilled the necessary conditions for early release.

The millionaire musician is the lead singer of the cult French rock band Noir Désir, whose socially conscious songs frequently reflected Cantat’s left-wing views.

He was convicted of killing Trintignant after battering her in a hotel room in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, where the actress had been starring in a film.

At his trial in Vilnius, the court heard that Cantat had punched his lover 19 times in the face, causing irreparable brain damage, after he flew into a jealous rage over an affectionate text message from her ex-husband.

When the 41-year-old mother of four fell into a coma from which she never emerged, he did not call an ambulance, but telephoned friends instead.

In court, he claimed he had not called for medical help because he believed she was sleeping. It was not until several hours later, when Cantat called her brother Vincent, who was also acting in the film and was staying in the same hotel, that Vincent saw his sister’s bruised and battered face and called for an ambulance.

Despite being flown to Paris for emergency brain surgery, surgeons were unable to save her and she died on 1 August, 2003, without regaining consciousness.

Cantat originally claimed he had “slapped her hard four times”, but a post-mortem examination revealed she had received 19 punches. […]

Far from dimming the group’s popularity, Cantat’s conviction sent record sales soaring. A live album released in 2005 sold over 300,000 copies in France.

Trintignant’s parents fear that their daughter’s killer will profit from his crime, especially if his fans consider that the singer is now endowed with tragic mystique.

In court, he claimed he had not called for medical help because he believed she was sleeping. Sounds like a nice guy.

French rock music has never been taken too seriously outside France: they always look like they’re too concerned with posing. The exception for me is the wonderful French/Spanish Manu Chao. As it happens he collaborated with Noir Désir on “Le Vent Nous Portera” – a portentous, if not pretentious, video, but a great song thanks largely to Manu Chao’s rhythm guitar.