Ex-spy chief's trial puts luxury giant LVMH under unexpected spotlight

In a high-stakes legal drama‚ Bernard Arnault - the head of luxury powerhouse LVMH is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow for the trial of Bernard Squarcini‚ Frances ex-spy chief whose post-government work has raised serious questions

The case shows how the mega-rich fashion empire tried to guard its reputation: Squarcini (who ran counter-intelligence from 08 to 12) later got hired as LVMHs security advisor but his methods werent exactly by-the-book. Hes now facing multiple charges including breaking privacy rules gathering secret info and trying to influence justice

LVMH paid about 2‚2 million euros to Squarcinis company Kyrnos for work that included checking people who might be making fake luxury items and watching left-wing groups that planned protests (this kind of surveillance wasnt legal at all). One target was Francois Ruffin - now a politician who made a prize-winning film called “Merci Patron“ about workers who lost their jobs

While Arnault isnt charged - having paid a 10-mil settlement few years back - he says his late right-hand man Pierre Gode handled everything with Squarcini and he didnt know what was going on. The timing isnt great for LVMH though; the company is dealing with market slowdown and switching up its top team right now