Africa : Jeune Afrique loses disparagement case against Africa Intelligence

On 4 June, after two years of legal proceedings, the Paris Court of Appeal once again rejected the attempt by companies Jeune Afrique Media Group and Africa Media Group to have Indigo Publications, publisher of Africa Intelligence, found guilty of "disparaging" the magazine "in a way that constitutes unfair competition". For a long time the French publication received legal advice from Emmanuel Pierrat, who was suspended from practice for 18 months in March 2023. Jeune Afrique was assisted in this case by Patrick Klugman, who has, among other things, acted as counsel to the Gabonese government.

The magazine's lawsuit targeted seven articles published in Africa Intelligence and La Lettre (a title also produced by Indigo Publications), between 2017 and 2023, relating to its finances, shareholding and management structures. In its pleadings, the weekly argued that the publication of these articles had disrupted its fundraising efforts with potential shareholders. At the commercial court, the magazine claimed €200,000 for damage to its image and economic loss, and the deletion of the articles in question.

At the first hearing, held on 24 June 2024, the Commercial Court ruled that there was no evidence "that the comments in question" constituted "criticism" of the plaintiff firms' products "with the aim of giving Indigo an unfair competitive advantage", and called upon the plaintiff firms, if they considered the articles in La Lettre to be disparaging, to "refer the matter to the judicial court", in this case the 17th Chamber, which hears media cases, rather than a commercial court.

However, Jeune Afrique decided not to follow this recommendation and instead turned to the Court of Appeal, reiterating that the revelations made about it in La Lettre and Africa Intelligence were "disparaging", since they tarnished "its image through excessive and malicious criticism", especially since these articles were written "by a company that competes in the market for publishers and broadcasters of news", particularly in African countries. However, on 4 June 2025, the judges ruled that none of the articles in question contained "statements likely to constitute criticism of the products and services" of Jeune Afrique "with the aim of giving Indigo a competitive advantage", and that it was therefore "by no means proven" that Indigo "had engaged in a campaign of disparagement". The court also ruled that appellant companies had not proved that "the content of these articles [had] caused them any trouble or [had] prevented them from increasing its capital".

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