This is a case that has caused a lot of talk in the world of the media and which has had serious repercussions. Comedian and employee of the Canal+ channel, Sebastien Tohen participates in a sketch in the form of a pastiche of Pascal Praud’s show, Time for the pros, alongside his lifelong sidekick, Julien Cazarre in November 2020. A sketch that is not at all to the taste of the editorial staff of the encrypted channel and its majority shareholder, Vincent Bolloré, who also owns CNews, the channel of continuous information where Pascal Praud officiates. A few days later, the 45-year-old comedian is thanked by his management, which raises a wind of protest within the chain.
Subsequently, his colleague Stephane Guy pays tribute to him on air: “I want to salute my friend Sébastien Thoen who didn’t have the outing he deserved. We wish him good luck”, he said at the time. The management of Canal+ does not at all appreciate the words of its employee and decides to lay him off before dismissing him. A long dispute followed between the 51-year-old journalist and the encrypted channel since the latter attacked his former house at the Prud’hommes for “wrongful dismissal” and as The Team we learned last Tuesday, the chain was condemned since the Paris Labor Court considered that this dismissal was “abusive, and that he had committed no fault”according to Me Olivier Khatchikian, the plaintiff’s lawyer.
A first victory, but not the end of the story for Stéphane Guy
A great victory for Stéphane Guy, which is accompanied by a financial condemnation for Canal+. According to information from the sports daily, the company was ordered to pay 260,000 euros in damages to his former employee. But the case is obviously not over if we are to believe the journalist’s lawyer, who now officiates on RMC, alongside Daniel Riolo. “Beyond the financial compensation he obtained, my client considers that the judges did not draw all the legal consequences from their own findings. The attack on freedom of expression cannot be resolved solely by damages and interests. He will therefore pursue his action on appeal. to obtain the pure and simple annulment of his dismissal”specifies Me Khatchikian.
A first victory for Stéphane Guy, but a story that is far from over if we are to believe his lawyer.