Overview
- Investigating judges set a Paris criminal court trial for December 7–17, 2026, with charges including bribery of a foreign public official in Togo and complicity in breach of trust in Togo and Guinea.
- The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the trial, which centers on alleged discounted Euro RSCG/Havas campaign services for Faure Gnassingbé and Alpha Condé tied to port concessions in Lomé and Conakry.
- Co‑defendants Gilles Alix, former Bolloré Group CEO, and Jean‑Philippe Dorent, a former Havas executive, were also ordered to stand trial on related corruption and breach‑of‑trust counts.
- Defense lawyers announced procedural appeals, argue a fair trial is impossible after a rejected 2021 guilty‑plea deal, and note an application pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
- In 2021 the group paid €12 million under a CJIP while individual prosecutions continued; Bolloré faces up to 10 years in prison and a €375,000 fine, as anti‑corruption groups welcome the case moving to court.