Suspicions of fictitious employment at Le Canard Enchaîné: two former executives, a former cartoonist and his partner to be tried this Tuesday

For four days, Michel Gaillard, president of Le Canard from 1992 to July 2023, Nicolas Brimo, who succeeded him, former cartoonist André Escaro, and his partner Edith Venderdaele, will be tried before the 11th Criminal Chamber of the Paris Court. They will face charges of misuse of corporate assets or receiving stolen goods, fraudulent declaration to obtain a press card, forgery and use of forged documents, and fraudulent declaration to a social security organization.

Initially scheduled for October 2024, the trial was postponed at the request of defense lawyers, who argued in particular the state of health of André Escaro, now aged 97.

1.5 million euros in damages

The affair sparked a profound internal crisis in the century-old magazine, famous for its puns, caricatures, and the many political and economic scandals it exposed.

In May 2022, Christophe Nobili, one of the journalists behind the revelations about the fictitious jobs of François Fillon's wife during the 2017 presidential campaign, filed a complaint against an unknown person. He denounced the fact that the partner of André Escaro, cartoonist and former administrator of the newspaper, had allegedly received remuneration from the newspaper for 25 years without having worked there.

According to a July 2023 summary report from the financial brigade, revealed by Mediapart, André Escaro explained to investigators that after retiring in 1996, he continued to send weekly cartoons and that he had agreed with the newspaper's management that his partner, who provided him with "a moral and technical contribution to the preparation of the cartoons," would be paid by the newspaper. Investigators estimate that the damages amount to nearly €1.5 million between 2010 and 2022, as the acts committed before 2010 are time-barred.