Paris – France’s richest man, LVMH chief Bernard
Arnault, testified Thursday in the influence-peddling trial of the former head
of France’s domestic intelligence agency, denying any knowledge of an alleged
scheme to protect the luxury group.
Bernard Squarcini, the former head of the DCRI security service (since
renamed the DGSI), is one of 10 men on trial and charged with using his
security contacts for private gain, including obtaining confidential
information on behalf of LVMH.
Squarcini faces 11 charges in the Paris criminal court case, including
influence peddling, misuse of public funds and compromising national security
information.
“I would like to point out that I am here as a witness, a simple witness,
and that my indictment was never considered by the investigating magistrates,”
Arnault said in his opening statement.
“I was completely unaware” of the alleged scheme, he added.
The charges relate both to the period when Squarcini headed the DCRI from
2008-12 and to his subsequent return to the private sector, when he worked
largely for LVMH as a consultant.
Investigators say that as early as 2008, DCRI officers were deployed to try
to identify a blackmailer targeting Arnault.
Other allegations relate to spying on Francois Ruffin, a former journalist
who is now a leading left-wing lawmaker — and, from 2013 to 2016, the leftist
newspaper Fakir that Ruffin founded.
Before his 2017 election to parliament, Ruffin produced a satirical film
about Arnault titled “Merci Patron” (“Thanks Boss”) that won a Cesar award —
French cinema’s equivalent of an Oscar.
Ruffin, whose lawyers requested that Arnaut testify, has said that the
lawsuit had “been decapitated” because LVMH itself was not in the dock.
The company settled out of court in 2021, paying 10 million euros in fines.
Arnault was interrogated by investigating magistrates but neither he nor LVMH
were ever put on trial.
LVMH had been concerned about the activities of Ruffin, who at the time was
planning to disrupt its shareholder meetings.
‘Absolutely not’
But Arnault said that in the accord with investigating magistrates “it is
stated that the group does not recognise any responsibility”, saying the deal
had been “proposed” by the magistrates.
Agreeing to the deal was a question of “avoiding being caught up in the
media uproar that followed”, Arnault told the court.
He also denounced Ruffin, saying “I think he is trying to exploit this
trial for personal, media, political and even commercial reasons”.
Asked by the judge if he was aware of an attempted blackmail targeting his
private life in 2008, for which the DCRI mobilised its agents to identify the
blackmailer, Arnault replied: “Absolutely not.”
Arnault was also questioned if he was informed by Pierre Gode, the vice
president of the group who died in 2018, of surveillance of Francois Ruffin
and Fakir. He replied in identical fashion: “Absolutely not.”
Arnault, who regularly vies with the likes of Elon Musk for the title of
the world’s richest person, has along with his family a fortune of $158.6
billion, according to Forbes magazine.
He also rejected the allegations concerning LVMH’s work practices in
Ruffin’s documentary, describing his group as one that pays “8 billion” euros
to the state per year in taxes and “recruits the most in France”.
LVMH has sought to further broaden its empire especially into media, last
month taking control of the glossy weekly Paris Match to join the dailies Les
Echos and Le Parisien in its media stable.
In another eye-catching move, the Arnault family is set to buy a
controlling stake in football club Paris FC in a move that could make the
Ligue 2 outfit a rival to French giants Paris Saint-Germain.(AFP)
