Paul François, February 6, 2019 before the Lyon Court of Appeal. – AFP
Farmer Paul François, who is waging a long legal battle against the agrochemical giant Bayer, owner of
Monsanto, was indicted Tuesday in Angoulême for concealment of goods from breach of trust, which he disputes, we learned from his lawyer on Wednesday.
The farmer is suspected of having benefited from “several hundred thousand euros”, which a notary at Ruffec is suspected of having diverted from his clientele, said the lawyer.
The notary “steeped in shame”, Paul François “serene and upright in [ses] boots “
Me Karine Coulais-Pourageaud is being prosecuted for aggravated and false trust breach in public writing. According to his lawyer Me Christophe Gris, the latter is “full of shame and has already started to reimburse its victims”.
Paul François, who asserts himself “serene and upright in [ses] boots ”, was placed under judicial supervision. According to him, the notary is “a close friend who has followed me from the start in my fight against Monsanto. Since I couldn’t get loans from big banks [pour son exploitation], certainly because of my long legal struggle, she offered to help me. I accepted. I never imagined for a second that it was stolen money, “he said.
The farmer was heard for 36 hours by the gendarmes of the research section of Poitiers. François Lafforgue, his Parisian lawyer, indicated that they were going to bring “documents which prove that my client could not have known the origin of these funds”.
Paul François, cereal producer from Charente, attacked Monsanto after being intoxicated in April 2004 by vapors from Lasso, a Monsanto herbicide finally banned in France three years later. He also claims to suffer from serious neurological disorders. The German agrochemical giant appealed to the Supreme Court last summer after losing several lawsuits against the farmer.
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