Bruno Lasserre, president of the steering committee of the General States of Information, launched in October 2023, who was also vice-president of the Council of State (2018-2022), resigned “for strictly personal and family reasons”, announced the Elysée on Thursday January 25. He is replaced by the boss of Arte, Bruno Patino.
Mr. Lasserre, 70 years old, resigned “for strictly personal and family reasons, which require him to have more time at a time when the Estates General requires constant commitment,” they reported. the States General of Information in a press release.
On November 30, a Parisian investigating judge ordered a criminal trial for complicity in moral harassment against Mr. Lasserre, for facts dating back to the time when he headed the Competition Authority (2004-2016). His former subordinate Fabien Zivy will be tried for moral harassment.
My exams in 2019
Appointed in 2011 as head of the legal department of the Competition Authority, Mr. Zivy saw his management described as “toxic and disqualifying”, in particular towards a deputy, Alain Mouzon, in an audit delivered on April 15, 2013. Dismissed eight days later by Mr. Lasserre, Mr. Zivy remained in office for a month before being transferred to the Competition Authority. He remained there until January 2014.
On March 27, 2014, Mr. Mouzon, 46, was found dead in his apartment. Two decrees published in April 2015 by the ministers of economy and finance concluded that his death was “attributable to service” and constituted “an illness of a professional nature”, according to Marianne, who revealed the affair.
“Mr. Mouzon was exposed to moral harassment which led to professional burnout and the development of severe anxiety disorders which led to his death,” confirmed the Paris administrative court on March 17, 2016. The State had been convicted of gross negligence and to pay 60,000 euros to the agent's mother.
The latter had filed a complaint, at the end of 2015, against MM. Vizy and Lasserre, which led to the opening of a judicial investigation. They were indicted in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
During the investigation, Mr. Zivy had rejected the harassment but had mentioned a “story of explosion, of collective burn-out”. He presented himself as a “transmission belt” and a “shock absorber” for Mr. Lasserre.
Campaign promise from the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, in 2022, the States General of Information will last until the summer. Through the work of groups of experts and public consultations, they must result in proposals for legislative modifications, as well as recommendations to players in the media and press sector.
