2023-06-21 19:19:25
The Casino group has summoned the specialist media Letter A to appear in court for defamation (AFP / JEFF PACHOUD)
The Casino group is suing two media for defamation: La Lettre A, from which it is claiming more than 13 million euros for alleged financial damage, as well as BFM Business for a much lower amount, AFP has learned. from concordant sources on Wednesday.
La Lettre A, an investigative media created in 1978 and bought by Indigo Publications in 2007, received a summons to appear before the Paris Criminal Court, this publication told AFP, confirming information from Le Monde.
According to this document dated June 15, which AFP was able to consult, Casino triggered this procedure because of articles which it considers “particularly denigrating and defamatory” against it.
The group “tries to hinder the publication of our information”, estimates Octave Bonnaud, editor-in-chief of Letter A which investigates the mysteries of political, economic and media powers. “Obviously the Letter A will continue to cover the Casino group and the large distribution”, he added.
Casino, listed on the stock exchange, considers that it has suffered “economic damage” of a “considerable” magnitude and is seeking compensation for 13.7 million euros, which corresponds to the stock market valuation erased during a trading day. where two articles were published, according to the subpoena.
The distributor has launched another procedure against BFM Business. According to concordant sources, Casino contests the story of an article published on the website of this media and requests an amount much lower than that claimed from La Lettre A, of the order of a few thousand euros.
“As a listed company, Casino has the responsibility not to allow false or misleading information to be disseminated, in particular when this is likely to have an impact on the stock market price, thus disrupting the normal functioning of the market”, reacted Me Olivier Baratelli, lawyer of the group.
“The ongoing conciliation procedure as well as the many rumors circulating force the Casino group to be more vigilant under the supervision of the Autorité des marchés financiers”, he said, denouncing “the multiplication (…) false information” in The Letter A.
One of the articles “falsely speculates” on the resignation of three directors, while “no resignation took place” and that they “were all present” at the last council on June 15, details Me Baratelli.
“Good luck showing that it was articles from La Lettre A that lowered the price” that day, replies Octave Bonnaud, noting that the articles were published at 6:20 a.m. and 11:40 a.m., “while we are talking about ‘a drop in the stock price at the end of the day’. “In any case, we claim the possibility of releasing information that is likely to lower a stock market price.”
The retailer of Saint-Etienne origin, which employs 200,000 people worldwide, including a large quarter in France, under many brands such as Monoprix, Franprix or Pao de Acucar in Brazil, entered the conciliation procedure at the end of May in order to renegotiate its debt. .
Its CEO Jean-Charles Naouri was kept in custody on June 1 as part of an investigation opened on February 5, 2020 and relating to alleged facts of “price manipulation in an organized gang, active and passive private corruption” and “misdemeanor insider committed during 2018 and 2019”. He was released without charge against him at this stage.
In this turbulent context for Casino, several journalists covering its news have also reported to AFP insistent calls from the group or its advisers.
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