Tom Félix has gone on trial in northern Malaysia, charged with drug possession and trafficking which could carry the death penalty if he is found guilty.
Félix, 34, a former executive of French waste management firm Veolia, was arrested in early August 2023 on the island resort of Langkawi, where he was hoping to open a restaurant.
Police found several hundred grams of cannabis in a common area of the house he shared with his Malaysian business partner, who was also arrested.
Félix's lawyer Collin Andrew said the hearing began Monday at the Alor Setar High Court in northwestern Malaysia and was then ajourned until Tuesday after the first witness had not brought all the necessary documents to court.
The trial was scheduled to end on Thursday, but it was not known whether sentencing would take place immediately afterwards.
Félix faces the death penalty, or "104 years of cumulative imprisonment, 54 strokes with a cane and a 27,000 euro fine," his mother Sylvie Félix told France's AFP news agency.
Drug possession and trafficking are serious crimes in Malaysia that can still carry the death sentence if the amounts are above a certain threshold.
Death sentences, however, are no longer mandatory and no executions have taken place since 2018.
Frenchman on death row in Indonesia leaves jail ahead of transfer home
'Terrible' conditions in prison
Felix's parents spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron about his case during a recent state visit to neighbouring Singapore, where they live.
"He heard us and said that this situation is indeed unacceptable and that he would do everything possible to ensure Tom's release," Félix's mother said.
His family insists that, during the investigation, Tom was “exonerated” by his partner, but that the Malaysian police did not take this into account.
Since his arrest 22 months ago, Félix has been held in Perlis prison in "terrible" conditions, according to his lawyer and family.
In footage taken from a documentary broadcast on M6's 66 Minutes in December 2024, the detainee appears emaciated and refers to his “total despair”.
"It's not always easy to keep him fighting," his mother told Le Parisien daily in December 2024.
Global executions at highest level in almost a decade, says Amnesty
"He also has suicidal thoughts; he told me he felt like swallowing a box of sleeping pills and never waking up again."
Serge Atlaoui, a Frenchman who was held on death row in Indonesia for drug offences was released in February and returned to France.
Jakarta left it to the French government to grant Atlaoui – the only Frenchman on death row in Indonesia – "clemency, amnesty or a reduced sentence".
(with newswires)
