Overview

• Raquel Garrido and Alexis Corbière sued journalist Aziz Zemouri and Le Point magazine for defamation over a 2022 article falsely accusing them of mistreating an undocumented housekeeper.
• The article, published as an 'exclusive,' was quickly retracted by Le Point, which admitted its claims were entirely false and apologized publicly.
• Investigations revealed the story was fabricated by individuals linked to political rival Jean-Christophe Lagarde, who allegedly sought to discredit Garrido during an election campaign.
• The trial highlighted significant journalistic failures, including reliance on a single unverified source and lack of proper fact-checking by the publication.
• The court's decision, which could set a precedent for media accountability, is scheduled to be announced on May 12.