"The judgment was rendered on March 4. The Council considered that Mr. Léonard's dismissal was without real and serious cause and ordered France Télévisions to pay him severance pay of 45,236 euros and 100,000 euros in damages for the vexatious conditions of the dismissal", detailed Me Thierry Braillard.
France Télévisions has until April 4 to appeal.
Joined by telephone by AFP, a spokesperson for the public audiovisual group declined to comment.
In addition to Pierre-Etienne Léonard, Jean-François Laville, editor-in-chief in charge of the coordination of the magazines, and Alain Vernon, figure of the magazine Stade 2, had been sanctioned after an internal investigation aimed at acts of harassment and sexist remarks.
The case was triggered by the interview of a former colleague, Clémentine Sarlat, in the daily L'Équipe.
A fourth employee had received a reprimand.
"In the letter of dismissal, only three sentences were retained which would have been pronounced in the company and which would have justified this dismissal, but nothing proved that Mr. Léonard had kept them", added the lawyer, specifying that Clémentine Sarlat had testified in favor of her client.
"This judgment has given Mr. Léonard his honor because he suffered, with this totally unfair dismissal, repercussions in his professional and private life", added Me Braillard, former Secretary of State for Sports.
The two other journalists fired in 2020 have also brought the case before the industrial tribunal, which has not yet ruled on their case.
© 2022 AFP