The presidency of the Republic was condemned at the end of October by the administrative court of Paris to compensate an official victim of moral harassment at the Élysée where he was assigned between 2007 and 2018, according to the judgment consulted this Thursday.
The services of the presidency will have to pay 13,412 euros to Armand (first name changed) in compensation for the psychological and financial damage caused by the “undeniably malicious actions” of two colleagues, specifies this decision of October 25 revealed by Le Monde.
This civil servant from the Ministry of the Interior had been seconded from 2007 to the Élysée where he was assigned to the presidential correspondence department before becoming head of private mail in 2014. His situation deteriorated from the end of 2016.
He was first targeted by accusations of sexual harassment made by an agent in his office, which turned out to be unfounded.
According to the judgement, this situation is “fully” recognized by the presidency.
Also at the end of 2016, his assistant at the time will in turn make accusations of physical assault and moral harassment against him which will, again, be quickly "denied", according to the judgment.
In 2017, new accusations will this time be recorded in two anonymous letters sent to the Élysée.
Armand must then be placed on sick leave.
“Rare enough to be noted”
The official also accused the presidency of having disregarded "the obligation" to protect his agents and of having demoted him to the rank of deputy in February 2017, before ending his secondment in February 2018. The court considers, however, that these decisions, for "difficult to accept as they are for the person concerned", did not reflect "a malevolent intention towards him".
Despite this, Armand is justified in seeking compensation for his damage from the Élysée, notes the court, which underlines that the administration may be required to compensate an agent “without personal fault being imputed to him”.
“Harassment has been recognized and it is rare enough in the public service to be noted,” welcomed his lawyer, Me Christelle Mazza, deploring however that no fault was attributed to the administration.
“The judges practice a form of self-censorship and refuse to arbitrate the managerial practices of the State,” she lamented.