A French anaesthetist accused of intentionally poisoning patients so he could intervene and demonstrate resuscitation techniques went on trial Monday in Besancon, opening a case that prosecutors say is unprecedented in French legal history.
Prosecutors allege Frederic Pechier, 53, tampered with medicines or anaesthesia supplies between 2008 and 2017 to provoke cardiac arrests in 30 patients, 12 of whom died. Pechier has denied the charges and told reporters before the hearing that he was not responsible for the distress of victims and their families. The trial is expected to run until December.
The cases, which span adult and pediatric patients, were examined as part of an eight-year investigation opened in 2017 after a cluster of suspicious cardiac arrests during operations on patients considered low-risk. Prosecutor Etienne Manteaux told the court investigators found evidence suggesting Pechier deliberately triggered emergencies “to harm colleagues with whom he was in conflict,” and that Pechier “was the first responder when cardiac arrest occurred” and “always had a solution.”
Authorities say investigators reviewed more than 70 reports of serious adverse events, ultimately bringing 30 cases to trial from operations at the Saint-Vincent Clinic and the Franche-Comte Polyclinic. The accused’s alleged victims ranged in age from a four-year-old identified in court documents as Teddy, who survived two cardiac arrests during a routine tonsil operation in 2016, to an 89-year-old patient who also suffered a cardiac arrest. Family members of victims will appear among more than 150 civil parties represented at the trial.
Relatives gathered outside Besancon’s courthouse on the first day of proceedings. Amandine Iehlen, whose 53-year-old father died of cardiac arrest during kidney surgery in 2008, said she had been “waiting for this for 17 years.” An autopsy on that patient found an overdose of lidocaine, a local anaesthetic, according to court filings.
Pechier, a father of three, faces life imprisonment if convicted. He is not in pretrial detention but under judicial supervision, an alternative to custody. He has not practised medicine since 2017, although authorities allowed him in 2023 to work under strict conditions that barred contact with patients.
Pechier’s defence has said many of the incidents were the result of medical errors by colleagues and has criticised the investigation. "It's very easy to accuse people, it's harder to prove things," defence lawyer Randall Schwerdorffer told reporters. Pechier told broadcaster RTL that he had "strong arguments" in his defence and said it was necessary "to lay all the cards on the table." On arrival at court he was greeted by several relatives, including one who shouted, "Come on, Fredo."
Colleagues have offered contrasting descriptions of Pechier. Some described him during his career as a “star anaesthetist”; others depicted him as arrogant and manipulative. One co-worker quoted in pretrial reporting said Pechier liked to "think of himself as Zorro." The prosecution alleges he sought to discredit co-workers by creating emergencies in which he could show his resuscitation skills.
The trial will begin by examining the most recent cases that prompted the 2017 probe before addressing each of the poisonings attributed to Pechier. Stephane Giuranna, a lawyer for several civil parties, said the proceedings would be a "legal marathon" but that the families were prepared to see each case heard.
French legal and medical communities have followed the case closely. Prosecutors and relatives say the scope of the allegations and the length of the investigation have deeply shocked colleagues and patients at the clinics involved. The court will hear medical evidence, witness testimony and expert analysis as it evaluates whether the incidents were the result of deliberate poisoning or medical complication.
The trial is expected to test forensic and medical testimony spanning more than a decade and could set a major legal precedent if prosecutors secure convictions on charges that include intentionally causing deaths and harm to patients in order to stage life-saving interventions.