France’s richest man, LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, testified Thursday at the influence-peddling trial of the former head of France’s domestic intelligence agency, denying knowledge of an alleged scheme to protect the luxury group.
Bernard Squarcini, former head of the DCRI security service (since renamed DGSI), is one of 10 men on trial accused of using his security contacts for private gain, including obtaining classified information on behalf of LVMH.
Squarcini faces 11 charges at the Paris Criminal Court, including influence peddling, misuse of public funds and compromising national security information.
“I would like to emphasize that I am here as a witness, a mere witness, and that my accusation was never considered by the investigating magistrates,” Arnault said in his opening statement.
“I was completely unaware” of the alleged scheme, he added.
The posts relate to Squarcini’s time as head of DCRI from 2008-12 and his return to the private sector, largely as a consultant at LVMH.
Investigators say DCRI officers were deployed in 2008 to try to identify a blackmailer who targeted Arnault.
The other allegations relate to spying on Francois Ruffin, a former journalist who is now a leading left-wing member of parliament – and, from 2013 to 2016, Ruffin founded the left-wing newspaper Fakir.
Before the parliamentary elections in 2017, Ruffin produced “Merci Patron” (“Thank you boss”), a satirical film about Arnault, which won the Cesar award, France’s equivalent of an Oscar.
Ruffin, whose lawyers asked Arnaut to testify, said the case was “cut short” because LVMH itself was not a defendant.
The company settled out of court in 2021, paying €10 million in fines. Arnault was questioned by investigating magistrates but neither he nor LVMH were ever tried.
LVMH was concerned about Ruffin’s activities, then planned to suspend shareholder meetings.
‘absolutely not’
But Arnault said that in the agreement with the investigating magistrates “the group does not accept any responsibility”, saying that the agreement was “proposed” by the magistrates.
Accepting the deal was to “avoid getting caught up in the ensuing media frenzy,” Arnault told the judge.
He also accused Ruffin, “I think he is trying to exploit this trial for personal, media, political and even commercial reasons.”
Asked if he was aware of a blackmail attempt targeting his private life in 2008, when the DCRI mobilized its agents to identify the blackmailer, Arnault replied: “Absolutely not.”
Arnault was also asked if team vice-president Pierre Gode, who died in 2018, had informed him of Francois Ruffin and Fakir’s care. He replied in the same way, “Nothing.”
Arnault, who regularly competes with the likes of Elon Musk for the title of the world’s richest person, is worth $158.6 billion with his family, according to Forbes magazine.
He also dismissed allegations of LVMH’s labor practices in Ruffin’s documentary, describing his group as paying “€8 billion” in taxes to the state each year and as “the largest employer in France”.
LVMH has been looking to expand its empire further into media in particular, taking control of glossy weekly Paris Match last month to join newspapers Les Echos and Le Parisien in its media stable.
In another eye-catching move, the Arnault family is set to buy a stake in football club Paris FC in a move that could make the Ligue 2 outfit rivals French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
