The farmer Paul François, who leads a long legal fight against the agrochemical giant Bayer, owner of Monsanto, was indicted Tuesday in Angoulême for concealment of goods from breach of trust, which he disputes, he said. we learned Wednesday from his lawyer.
The farmer is suspected of having benefited from "several hundred thousand euros", that a notary of Ruffec is suspected of having embezzled his customers, said the lawyer.
Notary “steeped in shame”, Paul François “serene and upright in [his] boots”
Me Karine Coulais-Pourageaud is being prosecuted for aggravated and false trust breach in public writing. According to his lawyer Me Christophe Gris, the latter is "full of shame and has already started to reimburse its victims".
Paul François, who claims to be "calm and upright in [his] boots", has been placed under judicial supervision. According to him, the notary is "a close friend who has followed me from the start in my fight against Monsanto. Since I could not get loans from the big banks [for its operation], certainly because of my long legal struggle, she offered to help me. I accepted. I would never have imagined for a second that it was stolen money, ”he says.
The farmer was heard for 36 hours by the gendarmes of the research section of Poitiers. Me François Lafforgue, his Parisian lawyer, indicated that they were going to bring "documents which prove that my client could not have known of the origin of these funds".
Paul François, cereal producer from Charente, attacked Monsanto after being intoxicated in April 2004 by vapors from Lasso, a Monsanto herbicide finally banned in France three years later. He also claims to suffer from serious neurological disorders. The German agrochemical giant appealed to the French Supreme Court last summer after losing several lawsuits against the farmer.
- Justice
- misappropriation
- Society
- Monsanto