The legal battle between Sébastien Cauet and NRJ over commercial matters has come to an end. The Court of Cassation has rejected the appeal filed by the radio host and his company, Be Aware, against the station. This decision finalizes NRJ's victory and closes the door to compensation claims made after the termination of their collaboration.
The case dated back to November 2023, when Sébastien Cauet was temporarily taken off the air after several complaints of rape and sexual assault were filed and a preliminary investigation was opened. At the time, he was presenting the daily show " C'Cauet" on NRJ radio.
The Court of Cassation definitively rules in favor of NRJ
After his departure from the airwaves, the relationship between Cauet and NRJ quickly deteriorated into a legal battle. In February 2024, the radio host initiated proceedings to contest the termination of the contract between his production company and the station. The Paris Commercial Court initially ruled in favor of NRJ on May 7, 2024. Cauet and Be Aware then appealed.
But on November 15, 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal also rejected their claims. Sébastien Cauet, who was seeking compensation after his dismissal, had thus suffered another legal defeat against NRJ . The radio host and his company then decided to appeal to the Court of Cassation. This final appeal has now failed. The rejection of the appeal makes the Court of Appeal's decision final: Cauet will not receive any compensation from NRJ in this case.
Cauet's lawyer denounces a decision that "is causing broadcasters' contracts to skyrocket."
The decision has been particularly poorly received by Frédéric Lamoureux, lawyer for Sébastien Cauet and Be Aware. He believes its scope extends far beyond his client's case and could have consequences for the contractual relationships between radio stations and their presenters.
The lawyer denounced the decision, arguing that it "destroys the contracts" of the presenters. However, the Court of Cassation did not accept the arguments presented by Cauet and his company, thus leaving the appeal court's ruling intact.
This legal aspect of the case is now closed. It is separate from the criminal proceedings concerning the sexual assault allegations against Sébastien Cauet. The radio host was formally charged in May 2024, notably with rape and sexual assault. He denies the accusations against him and benefits from the presumption of innocence.
A conflict that began after his dismissal from NRJ in November 2023
On November 22, 2023, as the first accusations against the presenter became public, NRJ and Cauet announced his temporary removal from the airwaves. The suspension was initially presented as a mutually agreed decision.
The situation then escalated. Cauet notably claimed to have proposed that C'Cauet continue without him in order to protect his team's jobs. His lawyer asserted that discussions with NRJ never led to this solution. In a statement released in May 2024 , his counsel declared: "From the moment NRJ suspended the C'CAUET show on November 22nd, Sébastien Cauet proposed to NRJ that the show could be produced temporarily without him, solely to protect his team at his company, Be Aware."
The conflict ultimately ended up in commercial court. Nearly three years after the start of the case, all of Cauet's legal avenues in this regard have now been exhausted.
NRJ had, however, tried to bring Cauet back in 2026
The situation has taken a surprising turn in recent months. Despite their long legal battle, NRJ reportedly tried to bring back its former presenter for the fall of 2026. Cauet himself confirmed receiving a substantial financial offer from his former station, but refused to return to NRJ.
He justified his choice with an unambiguous statement: "There's a time for money and a time for loyalty." Cauet chose to continue his career within the Europe 1-Europe 2 group. At the end of August, the presenter even increased his on-air presence with his daily show on Europe 1 , where he now hosts the 15 p.m. to 16 p.m. slot.
The NRJ case is now definitively closed on the legal front: after the commercial court and then the court of appeal, the Court of Cassation has just closed the final appeal of Sébastien Cauet and Be Aware.
