[Courtois Laurent]

Originally Posted by focusfocus

Great work Laurent!,I'm looking forward to the next part!

Incredible!,the wording of the court decision...I almost fell off my chair!!

Best Regards
Michel

Hello Focusfocus,

Welcome to France, land of freedom! In France the work of historians is increasingly limited by law and censorship (by limitations on access to sources).

We wonder what the competence of a judge can be to know if a pilot has shot down this or that plane?

Concerning the Closterman CJE case, the latter claimed 1,000,000 francs in damages and interest. He only received 100,000 which almost put aéro-éditions near of bankrupt. Pilots from the Normandie-Niemen, pushed by a competing author of the CJE, tried to take the civilian side and also attack this poor CJE.

CJE was the only author to have carried out real historical work on Normandy-Niemen and this since 1988, that is to say before the end of the Cold War and before the internet!!! I'm not enough of a specialist in the other subjects he worked on to judge them, but there's no reason why it wouldn't also be of very high quality.

This judgment therefore appears to be a stain on a state that claims to be a democracy...

attached is an extract from this unfair judgment :

Decision of the TGI of Auch, judgment rendered on September 5, 2001, case of Pierre Clostermann S.A.R.L. Aeroeditions: I on demand … II discussions and reasons:

1. On the nullity of the document initiating proceedings …

2. On the limitation exception Whereas, independently of the special provisions concerning the press and publishing, and having regard to the rights of the public, in the event of invalidation the author of a work relating historical facts engages, where appropriate, his responsibility towards persons concerned when the presentation of the theses supported manifests, through distortion, falsification or serious negligence, a flagrant disregard for the truth; Whereas in this case the criticized article relates historical facts and consequently the law of July 29, 1881 is also without application, the court seized having only to determine whether the conditions imposed by arts. 1382 and 1383 of the civil code are combined;

3. On the merits of the request Whereas the incriminated article on page 55 of the work: “French fighter pilots 39-45” brings to a total of 12 victories identified with certainty for the benefit of Mr. Pierre Closterman, while he claims some 32;

Whereas the historical service of the Air Force, making a distinction between certain victories and probable victories and damaged aircraft, attributes to Mr. Clostermann 19 individual victories, 5 probable individual victories, 7 enemy aircraft damaged in combat;

Added to this are 14 sure victories, 4 planes destroyed on the ground, 3 planes probably destroyed on the ground, 13 planes damaged on the ground, for a total of 33 sure victories;

Whereas the track record of each of the pilots which appears in this work (page 8) has been established according to the list of the hunting inspection and that it constitutes the official source;

Whereas this table was drawn up on November 1, 1945 by Fighter Command and signed by Air Vice Marshall H. J. Broadhurst; Whereas, moreover, the incriminated article also refers to a book entitled Aces High and signed C. Shores and C. Williams – Grub Street, London 1994;

Whereas given the difference between the sure victories claimed by Pierre Clostermann and those, where applicable, noted by the authors of the book “French Fighter Pilots 39 – 45”, it was up to them to hear Mr. Pierre Clostermann in a contradictory manner, this so that he can justify himself in view of the documents held by him on the claimed victories;

Whereas in fact a historian must not only verify the quality of his sources but also give voice to the still living famous character whose epic he is precisely contesting; Whereas this has not been done; Whereas, therefore, the defendant with regard to Mr. Clostermann has presented a thesis which does not allow, contrary to what she writes in the heading “Warning”, to say: “that 90% of the information contained in this book are accurate. That any additional information or correction to improve this percentage will be welcome”;

Whereas such a reservation for a normally prudent and diligent historian cannot admit 100% of the information that he develops in his work must in fact be corroborated by objective elements, which is not the case;

Whereas therefore this “warning” on the part of the authors, even if not malicious, constitutes a fault having regard to the object of this book which was to list all the French and foreign fighter pilots who served in the army of the air and naval aeronautics as well as French pilots engaged in the R.A.F. having belonged to the Free French Air Forces who were officially credited with at least one confirmed victory between September 1939 and May 1945; Whereas taking into account the notoriety of the applicant who has benefited from

the most prestigious decorations awarded to a foreigner within the framework of the Royal Air Force or in France since he was decorated by General de Gaulle with the Cross of Commander of the Legion of Honor in a personal capacity and that he is the subject of 35 of a minority of French personalities currently holder of the Dignity of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor in a military capacity; that he is also a Companion of the Liberation, the damage resulting from the fault committed by SARL AERO EDITIONS is considerable and will be rightly repaired by a sum of 100,000 francs;


Whereas also that it is appropriate to order the publication of this decision in the journal Aviation Magazine, le Figaro Magazine, France Observateur, Le fana de l'aviation, Aerojournal, and this at the expense of the defenders without each publication exceeds 5,000 francs; … For these reasons :....