Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger’s ex chased him with a knife after her broke up with her, a court heard (Picture: Getty)
The former mistress of the patriarch of the Taittinger champagne dynasty has been convicted over a three-year campaign of abuse against her ex.
The 48-year-old woman, named only as Samira L, was found guilty this week by a court in Paris for harassing Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, 70, sending him death threats and chasing him with a knife.
Among more than a thousand messages sent to him after their break-up include promises to cut off his ‘willy’ and ‘kill’ him, according to proceedings reported by local media.
Samira and Taittinger, a married grandfather, were said to have begun an affair in 2011 while he was still president of the famous French sparkling wine estate.
She was described as an accountant with a firm that did business with Taittinger, living in an apartment in Paris’ elite 16th arrondissement district where he began to pay her weekly visits.
The couple frequented high-end sex clubs in the capital, where managers reportedly described them as ‘profligate’ but ‘in love’.
Samira turned on Taittinger after he ended their affair in 2014 and started bombarding him with hundreds of calls and messages, according to French newspaper Le Parisien.
Taittinger’s mistress also allegedly harassed his wife Claire (left)
The 70-year-old’s lawyer told the court his client tried to ‘calm things down’ by offering to put her up in a plush apartment at a cost of €2,470 (£2,110) a month, covering four years’ rent up front.
But they failed to reach an agreement, and she continued to harass him as well as allegedly trying to smear his name in the business world with false claims of paedophilia and pimping.
Taittinger eventually decided to report Samira to police in 2017 after she travelled 90 miles to her ex-lover’s home in Reims and waited for him outside.
When she saw him come out of the door, she pulled a knife from her bag and began chasing him down the road in broad daylight, the court heard.
The 70-year-old once said he was paid to ‘drink, eat and sometimes make love’ (Picture: Getty)
The 48-year-old accused Taittinger of forcing her into a life of debauchery and heavy drinking.
According to The Times, she told the court: ‘He chose the outfits I had to wear as well as the make-up and the hair removal. He chose the men I had to have sex with.’
According to French media outlet l’Union, Samira reported him to police over ‘rape’ incidents but the complaint was dismissed by Paris’ prosecutor’s office in 2021.
In court hearings this year Samira L admitted to harassing him but said she did so because she felt abused and manipulated after the break-up.
Taittinger has since handed control of the empire to his daughter Vitalie (Picture: Getty)
According to Le Parisien, her lawyers told the court: ‘Her existence was bound, dedicated to Taittinger, he was her only entourage. He controlled her whole life.’
On Monday she was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence, double the length called for by the prosecution.
Taittinger, whose grandfather founded the company, has been described in the French press as an eccentric lover of parties.
In an interview with the Irish Times in 2016, he said: ‘I am paid to drink, I am paid to eat and make love sometimes, and drink wonderful champagne sometimes.’
He became president in 2007 after organising a $660 million deal to buy the firm back from American investors, and handed over control to his daughter Vitalie in 2019,
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