Cases / Killings and repression of defenders · France · 2011–2013
EDF spying on Greenpeace (France)
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
In November 2011 a court in Nanterre fined the French utility EDF €1.5 million and ordered it to pay €500,000 to Greenpeace in a surveillance case. In February 2013 the Versailles appeal court acquitted EDF.
€1.5 millionFirst-instance fine on EDF (Nanterre, November 2011)
EDF and Pascal Durieux were acquitted on appeal at Versailles on 6 February 2013.
EDF and Pascal Durieux were acquitted on appeal at Versailles on 6 February 2013.
Status Latest step in the record: Versailles appeal court, 6 February 2013, acquitted EDF and Pascal Durieux; no later step is recorded.
What?
EDF was convicted in 2011 over surveillance of Greenpeace and acquitted on appeal in 2013; one individual's conviction stood. World Nuclear News
Where?
France: Nanterre court (first instance) and Versailles appeal court.
When?
Nanterre judgment in November 2011; Versailles judgment on 6 February 2013. Dates of the surveillance are not stated in the record. World Nuclear News
Who?
Gained
- EDF — Acquitted on appeal at Versailles on 6 February 2013. World Nuclear News
Lost
- Greenpeace — EDF's conviction was overturned on appeal; first-instance damages of €500,000 are recorded for 2011. World Nuclear News
Harmed
- Greenpeace — The organisation placed under EDF's surveillance, according to the research record.
Why?
The record does not state EDF's reasons for the surveillance.
How?
The record does not state how the surveillance was carried out.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The research record describes a case in which the French utility Électricité de France (EDF) was convicted in 2011 over surveillance of the environmental organisation Greenpeace. In November 2011 the court in Nanterre fined EDF €1.5 million, ordered it to pay €500,000 to Greenpeace, and two EDF security staff were jailed.
On 6 February 2013 the Versailles appeal court acquitted EDF and Pascal Durieux. Only the conviction of Pierre-Paul François stood, with €5,000 in damages.
The record does not state when the surveillance took place, how it was carried out, or what EDF or Greenpeace said about the case.
- 2011Nov: Nanterre court fines EDF €1.5 million, orders €500,000 to Greenpeace; two EDF security staff jailed
- 20136 Feb: Versailles appeal court acquits EDF and Pascal Durieux; one conviction (Pierre-Paul François) stands, with €5,000 in damages
What was said
Claims, in the words of those who made them.
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Was EDF criminally liable for the surveillance of Greenpeace?
Courts
Nanterre court (2011)
Fined EDF €1.5 million and ordered it to pay €500,000 to Greenpeace; two EDF security staff were jailed.
Courts
Versailles appeal court (2013)
Acquitted EDF and Pascal Durieux; only the conviction of Pierre-Paul François stood, with €5,000 in damages.
World Nuclear NewsCompany or project
EDF
No statement in the record.
Communities and civil society
Greenpeace
No statement in the record.
How it looked
What was shown, beside what was recorded.
Shown
Recorded
- Nanterre court, November 2011: EDF fined €1.5 million and ordered to pay €500,000 to Greenpeace; two EDF security staff jailed.
- Versailles appeal court, 6 February 2013: EDF and Pascal Durieux acquitted. Only Pierre-Paul François's conviction stood, with €5,000 in damages.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2011-11Claimant won€1500bn Fine on EDF; plus €500,000 to GreenpeaceEDF surveillance of Greenpeace: first instanceNanterre court · Criminal · Greenpeace (as recorded) → EDF and two EDF security staff
EDF was fined €1.5 million and ordered to pay €500,000 to Greenpeace; two EDF security staff were jailed.
- 2013-02-06Reduced on appeal€5bn Damages on the conviction that stoodEDF surveillance of Greenpeace: appealVersailles appeal court · Appeal · Greenpeace (as recorded) → EDF; Pascal Durieux; Pierre-Paul François
EDF and Pascal Durieux were acquitted. Only Pierre-Paul François's conviction stood, with €5,000 in damages. World Nuclear News
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What nature saw
Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
Conviction of EDF
Overturned
Acquitted on appeal at Versailles, 6 February 2013
Subject of the case
Surveillance of an environmental organisation
No harm to an ecosystem is recorded in this case
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Accounts
- Disputed Was EDF criminally liable for the surveillance of Greenpeace?
- None on record EDF: No statement in the record.
- None on record Greenpeace: No statement in the record.
Record
- None on record The figures and sentences of the November 2011 judgment are recorded in the sources reviewed without a linked primary source.
- None on record The record does not link the 2013 conviction of Pierre-Paul François to either of the two EDF security staff jailed in 2011.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable: the case concerned surveillance of an organisation, and no harm to an ecosystem is recorded.
Who paid?
The record states the first-instance amounts (fine of €1.5 million and €500,000 to Greenpeace). It does not record any payment after the 2013 acquittal of EDF.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Nuclear spying verdict overturnedWorld Nuclear News ·
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