Journalist Sandra Muller, initiator of #balancetonporc, and Ariane Fornia, writer, were both sued for defamation by men, after denouncing sexist and sexual violence.
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The Court of Cassation confirms Wednesday, May 11 the release of Sandra Muller and Ariane Fornia, who were both accused of defamation by men whose actions they denounced. This decision closes two emblematic files of the #Metoo wave, denouncing sexual violence.
In October 2017, journalist Sandra Muller launched the hashtag #BalanceTonPorc accusing the former boss of Equidia on Twitter. She writes that Éric Brion sent her a message containing these words: “You have big tits. You are my type of woman. I will make you cum all night.”
Eric Brion files a complaint for “defamation” and wins at first instance, but Sandra Muller is acquitted on appeal. Eric Brion contests this judgment and appeals in cassation. But the Court of Cassation has just ruled in favor of the Court of Appeal, considering that it had “infers, rightly, that the incriminated remarks rested on a sufficient factual basis and remained measured, so that the benefit of good faith had to be recognized” to the journalist.
Also in October 2017, the writer and daughter of Eric Besson, Ariane Fornia, accused “a former minister of Mitterrand” of sexual assault in a post published on the internet, without naming him. The next day, the name of Pierre Joxe came out in the press.
He sued his accuser for defamation a few months later. He also won at first instance, but lost on appeal: Ariane Fornia was released. He then appealed to the Court of Cassation, but the Court of Cassation also just ruled in favor of the Court of Appeal, finding that it had “infers, rightly, (…) that the offending remarks were based on a sufficient factual basis and that, given the context in which they were made, the benefit of good faith should be recognized to Ms. Besson”.