Alpha Condé and Vincent Bolloré at the inauguration of the Blueline rail service in the Kaloum district of Conakry, June 12, 2014. CELLOU DIALLO/AFP
This marks the culmination of a lengthy legal saga. French billionaire Vincent Bolloré was ordered on Thursday, March 19, to stand trial before the Paris criminal court for "bribery of a foreign public official" in Togo and "complicity in breach of trust" in both Togo and Guinea, Le Monde has learned. The order, issued by investigating judges, follows the indictment request of France's National Financial Prosecutor's office (PNF) from June 2024. Barring unforeseen developments, the trial is scheduled to take place from December 7 to December 17.
Two other executives from the group have also been ordered to stand trial: Gilles Alix, then director general of the Bolloré Group, for "bribery of a foreign public official" and "breach of trust"; and Jean-Philippe Dorent, then international director at the Euro RSCG agency (now Havas), for "complicity in breach of trust."
Contacted by Le Monde, the lawyers for Bolloré and Alix, Céline Astolfe and Olivier Baratelli, "strongly reaffirm that the deals which took place more than 15 years ago between the Bolloré and Havas groups, which Vincent Bolloré was unaware of (...), fell within the normal scope of commercial relations between the two groups." They announced plans to appeal the order to stand trial – a challenge that, according to several sources, is unlikely to succeed due to a lack of substantive grounds. "Jean-Philippe Dorent firmly contests the allegations and notes that the procedural context of this case has infringed upon his right to a fair trial," his lawyer, Harold Teboul, stated.
