Edgar Bronfman after a hearing in Paris court on Vivendi case, November 2013. (photo © GPouzin)

English summary : The French article describes how Vivendi Universal ex-CEO Jean-Marie Messier discreetly planned to flood markets by divesting 55 million treasury shares overnight, in the first days of 2002, after promising he would cancel these shares to boost shareholders’ wealth, with bold advertising 3 months before.

Note to foreign editors : interested in this story, please contact the author if you want an original script of this hearing in Paris court, as Mr Bronfman spoke in English, and the French article is based on the author’s translation of his English written notes. Translating from French back to English entails a risk of confusion with the original words.