Journalist Inès Léraud is also the author of a comic strip devoted to the green algae scandal in Brittany.

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J. Gicquel / 20 Minutes

  • Journalist Inès Léraud was to appear Thursday for defamation against the Chéritel group.

  • The Breton fruit and vegetable wholesaler has finally announced the abandonment of the proceedings.

  • The journalist denounced the group's practices in an article published in 2019.

She was due to appear on January 28 before the 17th chamber of the Paris judicial tribunal for defamation.

But the trial should ultimately not take place.

The Breton fruit and vegetable wholesaler Chéritel indeed announced Friday the abandonment of the proceedings against the independent journalist Inès Léraud who had denounced his “abuses” in an investigation.

“The lawsuits are dropped.

We told our lawyer about it, not because we think that what was said by Ms. Léraud is true, there are a lot of false things, but we give in to the pressure, ”explained an official of the company.

#France: As the trial of journalist @ileraud approaches, accused of defamation by the agro-industrial group Chéritel, @RSF_inter denounces the climate of pressure surrounding certain investigations in this sector and calls on the company to withdraw its complaint.

https://t.co/3cz9SH76S6 pic.twitter.com/RwroT9UAS0

- RSF in French (@RSF_fr) January 21, 2021

"We welcome the abandonment of the proceedings, but we will be in court on Thursday to officially see it," said Me Antoine Comte, Inès Léraud's lawyer.

Reporters Without Borders had denounced Thursday "the climate of pressure and systematic denigration which surrounds certain journalistic investigations" on the Breton agro-industrial sector, calling on the company Chéritel to withdraw its complaint against Inès Léraud.

The company found guilty of "deception" by the courts

The journalist was being sued by Chéritel following an article published in March 2019 by the online media Basta !.

The article entitled “Covert work, fraud on labels: the multiple abuses of a Breton agro-industrial group” denounces “the group's managerial practices”.

He also points out that tomatoes stamped “French origin” had been “in fact bought at low cost in other countries”.

In November 2019, the company was found guilty of "deception" on the origin of a product after selling foreign tomatoes stamped "French origin".

The company has announced that it will appeal this conviction.

In addition to her article for Basta !, Inès Léraud has published several surveys on the agrifood industry in Brittany, in particular on the health situation of its employees.

She also published in 2019 a comic strip entitled “Green algae, the forbidden story” (Delcourt), which sold more than 45,000 copies.

Planet

The green algae scandal told in a comic

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Media and journalists think no

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