The Court of Cassation ruled in favor of Maïtena Biraben. According to information revealed on March 28 by L’Informé, the former host of the Grand Journal won her trial which opposed her to Canal, her ex-employer. The latter having dismissed him in 2016 for “serious misconduct” without “real and serious cause”.
After almost seven years of a long judicial soap opera, justice has “confirmed the essence of the decision of the Versailles Court of Appeal which had condemned the Canal group to pay the presenter nearly 3.5 million euros gross of various indemnities in June 2021”, as relayed by our colleagues from Puremedias. If the Vivendi group channel did not wish to comment on the decision, Maïtena Biraben spoke during an interview published on March 29 in Le Parisien.
“The channel can still appeal on a very small part of the sum. But the huge majority of the judgment is now indisputable. In particular the fact that the unjustified dismissal is proven”, affirmed the ex-presenter “proud” of to have been “at the end” of his fight. “I’m very moved, because it’s bigger than me.”
With more than 3.4 million euros in compensation, Maïtena Biraben can ensure a rather comfortable future. What will she do with this jackpot? “I will do what I want with it. Of course it changes your life”, she slips briefly to our colleagues. Today discreet on TV sets, the fifties evolves in the shadows since she turned to production and is teeming with projects.
As a reminder, the ex-star of the Grand Journal had animated a single season before announcing his departure from the private group in 2016. A decision far from surprising at the time, between the rumors of tensions with his team and the continuous drop in audience. Not to mention the recurring clashes with its president Vincent Bolloré.
Faced with this unfair dismissal, Maïtena Biraben went to the Prud’hommes where she had won a first victory in 2018, then already condemning the group to pay a little more than 3.4 million euros, out of the 4 million euros claimed by the former presenter.