French former intelligence chief convicted in a trial for the influence that included LVMH
In a crowded Paris court, a corporate magnate portrayed himself as a successful business leader who worked to turn LVMH into a top luxury conglomerate, with 75 brands, including Louis Vuitton and Dior, and 200,000 employees around the world. When Mr. Arnault first took over the company in the 1980s, he had only 10,000 employees.
He has ever known to know of any illegal surveillance.
Mr. Squarcini was tried along with nine other accused – mostly civil servants, police officers and advisers. Two of them were found guilty.
As the main defendant in this case, Mr. Squarcini was convicted of countless criminal offenses, including the misconception of classified information and preservatives in the unauthorized activity of a private investigator. He was found guilty of a number of other charges.
In his judgment, the court said that Mr. Squarcini had a special “administration of state resources to satisfy the secret concerns of” his key client, LVMH. The court added that Mr. Squarcini “designed and confirmed the system of close supervision” Mr. Ruffin and the satirical publication he headed, Fakir, whose staff members helped to portray Merci Patron, which Mr. Arnault portrayed as a symbol of corporate greed.
“The court has pronounced serious penalties, but with the seriousness of the proportional seriousness of Mr. Squarcini’s attack and his academics on freedom of print, freedom of expression, the rights of Francois Ruffin and the rights of Fakir magazine,” said Benjamin Sarfati, Mr. Ruffin, Thursday. “But we would like to judge the LVMH because people were convicted today at the request of the LVMH,” he added.
