Mediapart and Edwy Plenel sentenced in Nice for defamation of Christian Estrosi

A Mediapart journalist and Edwy Plenel, its former editor, were convicted on Friday of defamation following a November 2020 article about people close to Christian Estrosi being hired by the metropolis. The article revealed the conclusions of a report by the Regional Court of Auditors (CRC), which was not to be made public for another two days and which criticized the use by the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolis, chaired by Mr. Estrosi, of highly paid advisors from the highest echelons of the state.

Referred to by the mayor of Nice, the criminal court pointed out two passages in the article that had a "very assertive tone" and went "much further than the CRC report." The two journalists will each have to pay a fine of €1,000 and jointly €5,000 in damages to Mr. Estrosi. "There was no investigation, the journalist simply copied the report for the prosecution," denounced Mr. Estrosi's lawyer, Olivier Baratelli, indicating that he had produced at the hearing numerous elements on the reality of the work carried out by the councilors in question.

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In a report on the management of the metropolis, the CRC denounced "irregular practices in the area of ​​human resources management" and mentioned, without naming names, the cases of a former advisor to Nicolas Sarkozy, a judge and a former prefect, hired as temporary workers and paid between 4,500 and 5,900 euros per month for part-time hours without their missions always being specified.

"Estrosi hired friends in the metropolis who left no trace of their work," headlined Mediapart, naming the three people. At the time, Mr. Estrosi vigorously defended himself, assuring that he would continue "to call on the best." Contacted by AFP, the lawyer for the Mediapart journalists did not immediately respond.