Overview

• Bernard Squarcini, former head of France's domestic intelligence agency, was sentenced to four years, including two under house arrest, for influence-peddling and misuse of security contacts.
• The charges stem from Squarcini's private intelligence work, which included obtaining confidential information for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
• Squarcini was fined 200,000 euros and banned from intelligence-related professional activities for five years; he plans to appeal the ruling.
• LVMH was not directly targeted in the trial, though it previously settled related allegations in 2021 by paying 10 million euros without admitting wrongdoing.
• The case included claims of surveillance on journalist-turned-lawmaker François Ruffin and others, allegedly at LVMH's request during Squarcini's consultancy work.