Christophe Nobili, a journalist who is also a delegate of the SNJ-CGT union and a member of the CSE (Social and Economic Committee), will only go to Le Canard enchaîné on Monday morning to exercise his union mandates. However, the journalist has been suspended from work as a precautionary measure since Friday, March 31, and has received a letter convening him to a preliminary interview for a possible dismissal, according to an internal source at Le Monde. An extraordinary CSE meeting has been called for next Friday to consult on the matter, as required by the procedure when a union representative is involved. Nobili’s salary has been suspended.
As a reminder, the journalist filed a complaint against X for embezzlement and aiding and abetting embezzlement in early May 2022 after discovering that his employer had paid Andre Escaro’s wife for more than twenty years without any real work in exchange. He recounted his discovery and approach in a book, « Cher Canard, » published by JCLattès at the beginning of the month.
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Avec « Cher Canard », Christophe Nobili vole dans les plumes de sa rédaction
« A precautionary suspension? A salary suspension? Isn’t this the treatment generally reserved for those who have embezzled money or who have committed physical violence or harassment? » Christophe Nobili protested on Sunday evening. « This is not the treatment expected from a newspaper like Le Canard towards a whistleblower! »
« A completely disproportionate sanction »
Before taking legal action, Mr. Nobili had acted as a whistleblower and had been elected union representative in the hope of protecting his job. However, this seems to have been in vain. On Sunday evening, the journal’s administrative committee sent an email to all employees informing them of a « difficult decision » made unanimously in relation to the publication of his book and his numerous statements to the press and other media outlets, in violation both of the journalists’ collective agreement and Le Canard’s ethical charter. This procedureseeks to « install terror and intimidate my supporters, » Nobili says.
Members of the union committee that Nobili set up at the journal during the winter of 2021-2022, object to what they consider « a completely disproportionate sanction that demonstrates a symbolic violence that is uncalled-for and risks committing a serious injustice against him. » The statement regrets that this decision could « further damage the image of the newspaper, particularly among its readership. » Additionally, the statement states that « by using these management methods which are otherwise denounced throughout its columns to silence the man who caused the scandal, the management risks being remembered in history as having transformed Le Canard into an ordinary enterprise. » When contacted for comment, Managing Director and Publisher Nicolas Brimo declined to comment.
