Floran Gonsalves Head of the Versailles detention center Country: France

Biography of Florian Gonzalves

Florian Gonzalves is a former chief of the Versailles Detention Center who became embroiled in a scandal in 2011 due to his relationship with an Iranian prisoner convicted of involvement in a murder case. Gonzalves' involvement highlighted the issue of immigrant criminals in France, as a group of 26 Iranians, known as the "Barbarian Gang," not only altered their own destinies but also disrupted the lives of several ordinary French citizens.

In early 2006, Ilan Halimi, a French Jew, started a small business selling mobile phones, which attracted the attention of immigrants who had accumulated stolen money on the outskirts of Paris. Each of them had a difficult childhood and sought political asylum in Paris. In order to earn money, they decided to kidnap Ilan, believing that any Jew would have relatives willing to pay a substantial ransom for his release. The lure for Ilan was a 17-year-old Iranian girl named Emma, who had arrived in France with her mother at the age of 11.

After capturing Ilan, they held him captive for three weeks, futilely attempting to extort a ransom from the authorities or his relatives, but no one agreed to negotiate. Ultimately, Ilan was found half-dead outside the city, and he died soon after being transported in an ambulance. The entire Barbarian Gang was subsequently apprehended and brought to trial. The boys received maximum sentences, while Emma was sent to the Versailles Detention Center. It was there that the paths of Emma and Florian Gonzalves, the prison's chief, who was a loving husband and a collector of 19th-century artwork, crossed.

The nature of their relationship within the prison remains a mystery to many. However, the magazine "Esquire" recently published Florian's letter-article, in which he recounted everything that happened within the prison walls. Contrasting the official version, which claimed that Emma "used" Florian in exchange for gifts and favors, Florian himself asserted that it was true love, despite being separated by only adjacent rooms. Emma confessed her feelings first in a letter, and Florian replied, initiating an unstoppable process. It was later revealed that Emma had hidden a mobile phone; the court disclosed the number of messages exchanged by the lovers, amounting to 26,000. They met daily in the detention center, but their only opportunity for communication was on Fridays, in a closed computer room.

"I called her the East's flower, and she called me My Heart. For a long time, our relationship remained platonic. We dreamt of spending our first night together when she was released," Florian revealed in his letter. Eventually, their meetings became more intimate. During the trial, Florian was asked how he could trust a woman who had charmed and become an accomplice in the murder of an innocent person. However, Florian simply shook his head, realizing that none of his arguments would be convincing. Their connection was accidentally exposed when Florian carelessly purchased a SIM card in his own name, allowing the police to track him and wiretap his phone. He admitted to their relationship in court but declared his innocence in his speech, resulting in a one-year prison sentence, dismissal from his job, and being labeled by the newspapers as a pervert inclined toward relationships with prisoners. Soon after, his wife filed for divorce.

While serving his sentence, Florian learned that Emma had been released early, but his attempt to continue their relationship proved futile. "If I were asked today how I would act if given the chance to relive those years, I wouldn't change a thing. The moments of happiness with Emma, no matter how fleeting, are worth everything I lost. Perhaps, if my life doesn't improve, I will look at this story with different eyes and regret my choices," Florian concluded his article.