France: "The Chained Duck" in turmoil amid suspicions of fictitious employment

"Le Canard enchaîné" entangled in a case related to suspicions of fictitious employment wants to dismiss the journalist who revealed the case. © CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

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2 min

Christophe Nobili, journalist at Le Canard enchaîné, has been denouncing suspicions of fictitious employment within the editorial staff of the century-old satirical weekly since August 2022. He could be fired against the advice of other journalists.

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Within the editorial staff of Le Canard enchaîné, Christophe Nobili is not just anyone. It is he who reveals the François Fillon affair in 2017, suspicions of fictitious employment that then target the wife of the former French Prime Minister.

A fictitious employment case that now affects the newspaper itself. In 2022, Christophe Nobili suspects the companion of a former cartoonist of the newspaper, André Escaro of having been paid for 25 years by the Canard enchaîné, without having worked there. In August 2022, the directors then explain that André Escaro, statutorily retired, continued to draw for the Duck until June 2022, but the remuneration was touched by his wife, who supported him.

In May 2022, the journalist filed a complaint against X and an investigation for "misuse of company assets" and "concealment of abuse of company property" had been opened. On March 8, he released Cher Canard (JCLattès), a book in which he returns to this case that revealed fractures within the editorial staff, against a backdrop of conflict between generations.

Dismissal of the journalist

For management, this is too much. It counterattacks Sunday night by firing the journalist and announces "a procedure that could lead to a dismissal". "This decision was made after the publication of his book, and his multiple statements to the press and other media," the administrators continue. Christophe Nobili denounces the "incredible violence" of this procedure.

It is now an open crisis. Twenty-seven members of the newspaper support Christophe Nobili against this dismissal project. "Whatever reservations everyone in the newspaper may have about the book Dear Duck... , we, employees of the Canard enchaîné, consider that this dismissal project constitutes a totally disproportionate sanction," they write. Opposing any form of censorship is indeed the trademark of Le Canard enchaîné. Hence this question asked by the SNJ-CGT union after the dismissal of the journalist: "Would Le Canard enchaîné take himself for [Vincent] Bolloré?

(

With AFP)

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• France
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