"Further investigation" into Depardieu: Yann Moix's case dismissed, the court points to his "bad faith"

Q: The court ruled: Yann Moix did not have rights to the images

The court did not accept this argument. In its ruling, it determined that Yann Moix "holds no rights to the footage filmed by Hikari." The production company, for its part, maintained that there had "never been any question of filming a fictional work" and that the footage broadcast on "Complément d'enquête" had not been filmed by Yann Moix. The decision goes further: the ruling points to the director's "bad faith," according to reports in Le Parisien. For Hikari, this decision confirms that the footage used in the program belonged to the production company, and not to Yann Moix.

Q: France Télévisions and Hikari relieved

For the production team and staff of the investigative program "Complément d'enquête," the decision was hailed as a clear victory. Anthony Dufour, a producer at Hikari, welcomed the ruling confirming that Yann Moix "had no rights" to the footage. He did, however, express regret over the financial and human cost of what he called a "gag order." Tristan Waleckx, the program's presenter, also applauded the decision, which, in his view, put an end to "two and a half years of repeated lies." Since the broadcast of the report, the France 2 team had defended the authenticity of the footage and contested the accusations of manipulation.

Q: Depardieu had already withdrawn.

This ruling comes just weeks after another turning point in the case. On April 17, 2026, Gérard Depardieu withdrew his lawsuit against France Télévisions and the investigative program "Complément d'enquête." The actor had contested, in particular, the editing of a segment broadcast on the show, but ultimately abandoned his legal actions in this aspect of the case. France Télévisions had announced as early as December 2023 that a bailiff had authenticated the disputed segment, following public doubts about the video's editing.

New legal development in the case of Complément d'enquête dedicated to Gérard Depardieu. Yesterday, the Paris judicial court dismissed Yann Moix's claims in the dispute between him and France Télévisions and the production company Hikari, which produced the images broadcast in the France 2 program. The writer and director accused them in particular of breach of trust and undeclared work, after the use of sequences filmed in North Korea in 2018 with Gérard Depardieu.

Images at the heart of a national controversy

The case dates back to the broadcast, in December 2023, of an episode of Complément d'enquête The report focused on Gérard Depardieu. It included footage filmed during a trip to North Korea, where the actor made obscene and sexist remarks. One video, showing a young girl on horseback, was particularly shocking and sparked a heated controversy. Yann Moix claimed that this footage came from a film project he claimed to have created. According to him, it was used without his permission to create a biased report against Gérard Depardieu. In court, he denounced the "theft" of a work he presented as fictional and demanded more than two million euros in damages from France Télévisions and Hikari.

The court ruled: Yann Moix did not have rights to the images

The court did not accept this argument. In its judgment, it considers that Yann Moix "does not hold any rights to the images filmed by Hikari"The production company, for its part, maintained that there had "never been any question of filming a work of fiction" and that the images broadcast in "Further investigation" had not been filmed by Yann Moix. The decision goes further: the judgment points to the "bad faith" from the director, according to information reported by Le Parisien. For Hikari, this decision confirms that the images used in the program were indeed those of the production company, and not a work belonging to Yann Moix.

France Télévisions and Hikari relieved

On the production and team side of Complément d'enquêteThe decision was welcomed as a clear victory. Anthony Dufour, producer at Hikari, praised the ruling confirming that Yann Moix "had no rights" on the images. He nevertheless regretted the financial and human cost of a procedure he described as "gag order"Tristan Waleckx, the show's presenter, also welcomed a decision which, according to him, puts an end to "Two and a half years of repeated lies"Since the broadcast of the report, the France 2 team has defended the authenticity of the images and contested the accusations of manipulation.

Yann Moix announces he intends to appeal

The case is not entirely closed, however. Through his lawyer, Jérémie Assous, Yann Moix announced his intention to appeal the civil provisions of the judgment. His counsel denounces... "serious errors of law" and "legal anomalies".

Depardieu had already withdrawn.

This ruling comes a few weeks after another turning point in the case. On April 17, 2026, Gérard Depardieu withdrew his lawsuit against France Télévisions and Complément d'enquêteThe actor contested the editing of a segment broadcast on the show, but ultimately dropped his legal action in this matter. France Télévisions had announced in December 2023 that a bailiff had authenticated the disputed segment, following public doubts about the video's editing.