the charm of the French badboy
French rocker to leave jail early
Cantat was convicted in Lithuania, but served his sentence in FranceFrench rock star Bertrand Cantat is to be freed from jail on Tuesday after serving half of an eight-year sentence for killing his actress girlfriend.
"I am delighted with this decision, which will allow Bertrand Cantat to rebuild his future," his lawyer said.
Cantat, 43, the singer with band Noir Desir, was jailed for the manslaughter of Marie Trintignant after a violent row in a Lithuanian hotel in July 2003. She died after spending days in a coma. Cantat said it was a tragic accident.
Marie Trintignant died after spending five days in a coma
He was convicted of the crime in Lithuania's capital Vilnius but served his sentence in a French jail to be nearer his family. The case gripped France at the time. After release, the singer's probation terms state he has to undergo psychological treatment for a year. He is also banned from mentioning the case on stage or in any other audiovisual form.
Trintignant, the daughter of movie star Jean-Louis Trintignant, had been in Vilnius in 2003 to star in a film directed by her mother Nadine. Her mother has tried in vain to ensure Cantat was not released early by writing to French President Nicolas Sarkozy. She said the singer's release was premature and sent the wrong signal about violence against women.
Cantat has compensated two of Trintignant's four children and the production company behind the television film in which she was starring at the time of her death. Part of the money was raised from receipts from a live album by Noir Desir members while Cantat was in prison.