TJ de Paris, 17ème chambre, jugement n° 21165000487 [Guillaume Ancel déclaré coupable de diffamation publique envers un fonctionnaire public, en l'espèce Hubert Védrine]

Chauchis, Delphine

16 mai 2022

20220516

TJ de Paris, 17ème chambre, jugement n° 21165000487 [Guillaume Ancel déclaré coupable de diffamation publique envers un fonctionnaire public, en l'espèce Hubert Védrine]

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TJ de Paris

Jugement d'un tribunal

FR

Between March 26 and June 3, 2021, Guillaume Ancel treats Hubert Védrine in a series of tweets as "character so arrogant that he is unable to question himself", and accuses him in particular of having "collaborated with the Nazis in Rwanda", while comparing him to Maurice Papon, a senior official convicted of complicity in crimes against humanity during the Holocaust. Hubert Védrine then instituted proceedings for defamation and public insult. By this decision, the 17th chamber of the Paris Judicial Court considers that Guillaume Ancel has exceeded the "admissible limits of freedom of expression". However, the Tribunal also notes (page 28 of the judgment) that, "Testifying to his personal and professional experience, he [Guillaume Ancel] is therefore completely legitimate to take part in the debate on on France's role in the tragic events that took place in Rwanda during this period. / It is just as legitimate, in this debate, to mention the person of Hubert Védrine with regard to the role of secretary general occupied by him at the time, a role giving him closeness to the President of the Republic and the members of the government whose decisions are questioned through research carried out on the basis of the national archives and to which it is, little by little, granted access according to the authorizations henceforth issued". Following this verdict, Hubert Védrine nevertheless declared in a press release: "This strong decision of the 17th chamber of the Tribunal Paris Court is an opportunity to reaffirm that France is neither an accomplice nor responsible for the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda".