“Are they convicted”: Former President François Hollande on French TV discussing Jean Pormanove case demands action against Kick

Former French President François Hollande recently appeared on national Television. In the video circulating, he can be seen talking about Jean Pormanove’s case, demanding some serious consequences against the streaming platform, Kick.

His powerful remarks questioning the moral and legal responsibility of the platform put forward strong words on online responsibility and digital content limits.Here is all he said about the boundaries that must exist in live streaming and more.

Former President François Hollande talks about Jean Pormanove’s case

Appearing on a French Network, François Hollande didn’t hold back as he condemned the events that led to the death of Jean Pormanove. He expressed his outrage, saying that an estimated 200,000 viewers were on the stream.

They watched it without intervention. He further argued that, while the spectators might not face criminal charges, they do bear a moral responsibility for such voyeuristic participation.

The former President even criticized the passive audience, who watched and potentially funded this broadcast. As per him, the audience became an indirect complicit within this unbearable spectacle. The former President then turned the focus to Kick, asking, if the leadership of the platform “are they convicted… those responsible” yet? To it, it was revealed that, for now, “No,” no one has been convicted.

During his talks, he insisted upon stronger penal sanctions and legal frameworks to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

Jean Pormanove's tragic incident

The entire case and call for action centers around the death of a 46-year-old streamer named Raphaël Graven, aka Jean Pormanove. He was found dead on August 18, 2025, at his residence, after the extreme 12-day livestreaming marathon. His channel was later found to be full of enduring humiliation acts and apparent violence that was orchestrated by the other participants.

While the autopsy did confirm that the death was not linked directly to trauma or a third-party act, the circumstances drew immense scrutiny. The entire incident faced public fury, and authorities believed the platform must have intervened to protect the well-being of the user.French authorities even went ahead and launched a formal investigation against the platform Kick. Their aim was to determine if the platform knowingly broadcast the video that featured deliberate attacks on one’s personal integrity and whether the platform was violating the strict Digital Services Act of the EU.

French government’s legal battle with Kick

With the matter escalating, the French government pursued aggressive legal action against Kick platform. The legal action is being led by Digital Affairs Minister Clara Chappaz. It was further announced that the government will be suing Kick for its alleged negligence, accusing the platform of breaking the law by failing to stop dangerous content distribution. Minister Chappaz even vowed to make the case her personal fight, signalling a firm stance of the government against the operations of the platform.

Kick, the Australian streaming service platform, is now facing multi-front investigations, despite banning all the streamers who were involved directly/indirectly. The platform even stated that it is cooperating with the authorities, who are reviewing its content policies.