Louis Pisano

Sarfati reads transcripts of wiretaps revealing that Arnault was quote “very happy” with the spying on of the Fakir newspaper and continues to be updated by Squarcini whose services LVMH had engaged. Arnault again says he does not want to answer the question if he knew nothing

Bernard Arnault’s response to this accurate & verifiable information?
“But where did these layoffs take place? I will not answer these questions.” and proceeds to say he’s under attack from socio-Marxists and Trotskyists that don’t want him to succeed

Sarfati reminds Arnault about his commitment to preserve jobs when he took over the Boussac textile company [ that later became LVMH ] which is what Ruffin’s film is about & that he did not make good on his promise [ Arnault fired 9000 people ]

Antoine Arnault leaves the courthouse after his father’s outbursts refusing to answer journalists questions

Sarfati reminds Arnault that he said in front of the French Senate that LVMH was caught up in this affair that had nothing to do w them however they appear on every page in the casefile so therefore he lied to the Senate.
Arnault’s response: “I don’t want to answer that question”

Arnault: “I'm almost accused of having killed Benoît Duquesne! [ a french journalist LVMH allegedly attempted to ruin ]That's François Ruffin's style, he just wants to sell his film, create media hype! Is it normal for the court to lend itself to these shenanigans!??"

Arnault angrily answers: “ I don't have to respond to these stupid ramblings!!"

Sarfati asks if he’s so committed to freedom of the press why did LVMH organize the tailing & surveillance of a team from France TV in Bordeaux that they thought came from Paris with Waleckx when in reality it was a team from France 3 Aquitaine doing a report on Cirque du Soleil.

Benjamin Sarfati the lawyer for Fakir & Ruffin remind Bernard Arnault that the conversation was recorded. Arnault is now visibly angry and yells “This is totally false, I have no memory of all that! Am I here to respond to facts that have nothing to do with the case?”

Waleckx had documents proving Bernard Arnault paid taxes in Belgium and not France, Arnault snatched his microphone, dragged him to a corner and threatened him

Bernard Arnault yells “THAT IS FALSE!” upon hearing about this testimony

The judge reminds Arnault he said he was in favor of freedom of the press but to the contrary they also have the testimony from Tristan Waleckx of France TV who in April 2014 broadcasted an investigation into LVMH & Arnault.

He’s asked what he thinks hearing that LVMH’s ex 2nd in command Pierre Godè was spying on publications, whom he described as respectful of the law.

Bernard Arnault: “I am personally against infiltration. But I am not going to judge a person who has died.”

Bernard Arnault is then asked if he’s met Francois Ruffin before

Bernard Arnault’s reply?
“No, but we can talk about cinema with a "cone of fries". I will also explain to him how a company like LVMH works” 💀

When asked if he knew that Francois Ruffin [ then journalist at Fakir ] was secretly photographed with his children Bernard Arnault replies “no, it’s not good.

the presiding judge continues to question Mr. Arnault on the alleged spying of Fakir at LVMH’s behalf who replies some form of “I didn’t know”, “it wasn’t me”, and “nobody told me anything” to every question

Bernard Arnault: "If I had known [that LVMH] wanted to infiltrate Fakir, I would have said no, I would have vetoed it. Because it's no use, infiltrating a bunch of clowns is no use."

he then validates that spying is against the LVMH code of ethics

the presiding judge asks if spying on a publication is normal when it comes to LVMH’s code of ethics
Bernard Arnault once again defers to the now deceased Godè stating it’s not his role to access any of it and that Godè managed all that.

the presiding judge asks Bernard Arnault if LVMH’s code of ethics dealing with corruption & influence peddling was respected in this case. Bernard Arnault again states Godé was in charge of it as they divide up roles in the group & that he has died & therefore can’t speak to it

the presiding judge states that they found an email between the defendants stating ''Bernard Arnault managed to obtain an internal letter from Fakir, I don't know how he did it''.

Bernard Arnault: "I have no memory of that."

the presiding judge: "Were you aware of the spying on Fakir, presumably organized by Pierre Godet?"

Bernard Arnault: "No, absolutely not. It was Pierre Godé who took care of all that."

the presiding judge asks if it’s normal for a CEO like him to know what’s going on even as it pertains to his private life

Bernard Arnault: “I’m going to have to explain to you how a group like mine [ LVMH ] works…”

the presiding judge asks Mr. Arnault if it's common for LVMH to call former DSGI employees [ the french security agency ] to resolve issues like the above.

Bernard Arnault: "I'm not aware of that. It was Pierre Godé [ number 2 of LVMH who died in 2018 ] who took care of that."

they discuss Bernard Arnault’s former driver who attempted to blackmail him by threatening to reveal an extra-marital affair.

Bernard Arnault addresses the presiding judge: "I want to remind you that I am here as a witness. At no time did the magistrates consider indicting me in this case. We entered into a CJIP to escape the media uproar in this affair, and we paid for

Bernard Arnault has entered the courtroom with his lawyers and bodyguard.
The presiding judge: “Please tell the court your age, profession and address."
Bernard Arnault: “I usually say engineer."

a discreet entrance has been arranged at the court house for Mr. Arnault who is not present yet only his son Antoine Arnault, some LVMH staff and his lawyer Jacqueline Laffont have arrived

Updates from Bernard Arnault’s court appearance this morning in the Squarcini spy trial ⬇️

All of this because Fakir has been doing an investigation since 2012 on the beginnings of LVMH and how Mr. Arnault lied about preserving textile industry jobs in the Nièvre valley among other things.

very important detail!! Bernard Arnault paid 10M euros to avoid being charged thanks the Sapin 2 law where the accused pays a public interest fine to the state so he will be in court as a witness.

Two moles were tasked with infiltrating Fakir on behalf of LVMH. They were responsible for reporting on meeting discussions, searching through trash cans, forwarding emails, and taking photos of journalists to create a photo directory of the newspaper.