The Lagardère group was condemned for having dismissed journalist Valérie Trierweiler from the magazine Paris Match “without real and serious cause” in 2020, according to a judgment of the Paris industrial tribunal consulted on Tuesday May 23.

Valérie Trierweiler, 57, was dismissed in July 2020 from Paris Matchwhere she worked most of her career.

Dismissed “without real cause”

The society News Lagardère Media must pay Valérie Trierweiler, former companion of the former President of the Republic François Hollande, a total of €141,000, according to this judgment dated April 25 and first revealed by the news site Mediapart.

This sanctions both a dismissal “without real and serious cause” and the “vexatious conditions of the rupture”.

No “hatred” of Holland

On the other hand, the industrial tribunal did not accept one of the arguments of Valérie Trierweiler, who believes that she was dismissed because of a “hate” of François Hollande by his predecessor at the Élysée, Nicolas Sarkozy, member of the supervisory board of Lagardère.

“If the disagreement between the two former Presidents of the Republic is public knowledge, […] no concrete evidence is provided by [la journaliste] on the existence of such maneuvers”complete the judgment.

The reported reason was “the unsuitability and qualitative insufficiency of the proposals for articles brought to the direction of the drafting of Paris Match »is it recalled in the judgment.

But “the employer, who now considers these articles insufficient, considered them published without making the slightest comment”underlines the industrial tribunal.

Moreover, he recalls that Paris Match a “opened its archives” in 2019 to the journalist for her book “We give ourselves news”, in which she compiled some of her articles.

“A few months from invoking an alleged professional inadequacy, the employer was thus satisfied with the work provided by the employee”judged by the industrial tribunal.

However, he did not retain the fact that Valérie Trierweiler was dismissed because of her age, for lack of proof of a desire to “rejuvenate” the drafting of Paris Match.

A “collapse of his career”

By granting Valérie Trierweiler the maximum ceiling for damages, the industrial tribunal recognized that this dismissal constituted a “career collapse”said his lawyer, Me Rachel Spire.

However, he “did not go to the end of the reasoning”, she revealed: “As long as we say there is no valid reason for the licence, why are we licensing it? »

The direction of Lagardère News declined to comment or say whether to call.