[1] His case, which has been compared to imprisoned Australian tourist Schapelle Corby,[2] received media coverage by both the French and Indonesian press, and was featured on prime time news shows Sept à huit[3] and Tout le monde en parle in France.
[5] Blanc had been living in Bali for a year when, after returning from a trip to India, he was detained by immigration officials at Ngurah Rai Airport on 26 December 1999.
[5] Interviewed by investigators of the Directorate General of Customs, Blanc denied any knowledge of the drugs claiming the diving tanks belonged to an acquaintance named Philip, a Frenchman of Israeli descent who lived in Paris.
[citation needed] While prosecutors had called for the death penalty in this case, the Denpasar court found Blanc guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced him to life in prison on 16 November 2000.
[citation needed] During the appeal, a French government official had told Le Touzey that it would cost her between ₣800,000 and ₣1,000,000 (roughly $US203,000–$US254,000) to secure a reduced sentence for Blanc; however, she refused to pay.