Overview
- France 2 aired a Cash Investigation episode on December 4 scrutinizing Bernard Arnault and LVMH, focusing on the group’s fiscal and legal practices and referencing a corporate settlement mechanism known as a CJIP.
- Alain Weill, Sarah Knafo, Philippe de Villiers and David Lisnard condemned the program as biased and “à charge,” while Figaro editor Alexandre Devecchio framed the criticism as resistance to what he called an anti-rich narrative.
- Commentators challenged the show’s insinuations on prosecutions, emphasizing that the CJIP cited in the report applied to LVMH as a company rather than to Arnault personally.
- Supporters pointed to LVMH’s role in France, citing reported 2024 corporate tax payments of about €6 billion and employment impacting more than 200,000 jobs when indirect roles are included.
- The backlash followed a recent France 2 investigation of CNews, intensifying debate over the public broadcaster’s editorial stance, and no new legal actions tied to the episode were reported.