Auchan, Décathlon ... Les secrets d’une famille en or - Cash Investigation

Good evening, we are going to try to meet one of the most powerful families in France. You don't necessarily know their names, but you inevitably go to their stores. They are one of the French's favorite brands. Auchan, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon and even Noroto. Behind all these companies and a single family, the Mulliers, at Cache Investigation, we investigated their big and small secrets. Come on, follow me. Hello, I am Élise Lucet, France 2, Cache Investigation. We are doing a report on the Mullier family. We are doing a report on the Mullier family. Good morning ! Good

morning ! Good morning ! Hello, hello! Miss, have no fear, I am Élise Lucet, France 2, Cache Investigation. There's a little bit of secrecy. It’s discretion. It’s discretion. She is free, Karine. She is an independent young woman, the type who doesn't need anyone. Well, that's what she believes. Because on a daily basis, a family discreetly accompanies him. This family is always there to give him a helping hand. Work to be done, need a drill, the family has everything they need. A car breakdown, oh no, the tile! Don't worry, the family has solutions. Whatever your needs,

whatever your desires, they always have something for you. This is why clothing providers always do more for families. This family is the muliers. It's hard to escape it. They own almost 150 brands. Their weight is estimated at 10% of French trade. The muliers, one of the most powerful families in France. of which we are going to reveal a few things to you. We are going to erase 180 million debts which have disappeared, which are no longer paid, which are never paid. 221 euros tax on 43 million profits. These dividends are practically not taxed. Our adventure

for 67 years is unique. The times we are going through today are unique. Decathlons may be involved in forced labor, arbitrary detention and human trafficking of Uyghurs. You are aware, I imagine, you received this letter? Nothing at all. We are ordinary people who sometimes do unusual things. But we are ordinary people. Remarkable and I can't find a comparable example. With Élise, we sometimes get a little fed up with the carne of the sanitized factories and offices of the CAC 40. So, for this new issue, we decided to change the scenery and offer you a dive

into the history of France with Stéphane, an expert. The castle of Dampierre in Yvelines is one of the most sumptuous there is. The kings of France liked to stay there. Its pools and its perspectives remind us that the residence built by the Luyne family is contemporary with the Château de Versailles. This splendid building, framed by these arcaded galleries, has just been bought by a member of the very secretive Mullier family. Thank you, Mr. Bern. We have a meeting with one of its members. I'm waiting for Francky Mullier. Francky Mullier who bought this castle, the castle

of Dampierre. It's beautiful, isn't it? Good morning. Hello, Francky Mullier. Francky Mullier himself. Delighted to be... Yes, I am Élise Dusset, absolutely. Delighted. Thank you really for having us. It's a beautiful place here, there, right? We are in the Court of Honor. Did you fall in love at first sight or what happened? I was looking for a place to display my collection. Yes. And I was looking for a castle. In eight days, it was wiped out. In eight days, it was wiped out. All right. Invoice amount, can I ask? For the purchase of the castle.

How much did you pay for it? We paid for it... It cost 40 million with notary fees. All right. There is nothing to hide. It is estimated that another 60 million jobs will have to be added. Oh yes, all the same. Francky Mullier is the cashiest member of his family. He made his fortune by creating a successful business. Kiloutou. Kiloutou for Francky Loutou. Do you have it? Francky Loutou. We learn things on this show. At 77 years old... He assumes to show all his success. Are you going by the owner's fall? I precede you, I

allow you. This is the large dining room. Oh yeah! Which overlooks the lake. That’s superb! So, what are their names? Loulou and Poupine. All right. They're my bodyguards. All right. Loulou and Poupine will never live in Dampierre. Franck Himulier intends this castle for public visits. He even plans to create a foundation. It's crazy! Oh yeah, it's crazy. But the craziest thing about it, Élise, is that he’s going to break a taboo. Talk about family. Because usually, muliers, with journalists, it's more complicated. See the atmosphere instead. I'll tell you something. I don't think so, and we'll

see if you're an exception in the garden. I don't understand what journalists are saying. Not the journalists' walk. No, the journalists' word. This gentleman is Gérard Mulier. Francky is a direct cousin of Gérard, the founder of Auchan. He is also the cousin of Patrick, the founder of Kiyami. They do everything to avoid the light and never tell each other. What does your family think of you buying castles? What do the muliers think of that? I'm a bit of a black sheep in this family. A black sheep? I am totally independent. I think that Black Sheep,

that is to say, I was outside the norm in relation to the family, in relation to the parents, in relation to the uncles. OK, agreed. Because it was too much? Too much money? It doesn't happen in our family. It doesn't happen. The muliers are not people who have... They live very simply. I'm the only one with a castle, I think. And art objects. The others live quite simply. My father had kept the same Peugeot all his life. He changed models to have the new model, but the same color, to go unnoticed. All right. And the

day I bought my first used Mercedes, he yelled at me, against my taste for luxury. Among muliers, a penny is a penny. It must be saved. Francky discovered this the hard way, on his 12th birthday. The story, I remember it very well, my dad gave me a storybook, with green and red lines, very wide, and tells me, it's to note your savings. Does your father give you a storybook? At 12? At 12-13 years old. Yes, okay, okay. I tell him, Dad, you're very kind, but I don't intend to keep score in my life. I'm going

to choose a job where I'm going to earn lots of money so I don't need to keep small accounts. I'll give you back your gift. And how he reacted, your dad, when you gave him back the account book, when you did... Furious, furious. Furious ? Furious, very disappointed. He found out I wasn't a mulier. He found out you weren't a mulier. This mulier which is not a mulier. We will find him later. At this point, we would be curious to find out which muliers are muliers. To do this, you have to go to the north

of France. Change of scenery. In Roubaix, the family first made its fortune thanks to the textile industry. In the city where a thousand chimneys, the factories are now closed. But the heirs of the great industrialists, like the muliers, did not abandon the region. We are going to see Mr. Wattin, who is the family genealogist. No, no, no, Gabriel, they say Wattin. Mr. Wattin is not only a genealogist, he is one of the heirs of the Mulier dynasty. He wrote a book of more than 500 pages on the origins of his family. We're almost on training.

Yes hello. Full of portals. Thank you so much. Passing through the doors of the great families of the North is not common. Despite his natural discretion, Mr. Wattin agreed to receive us. Well, we had a strong asset with us. I see you have an interesting book in your hand. Hello, will you find it easily? Yes, we will find it easily. I am Alain Ouattine, and I am one of the descendants of the Mullier family, through the Miliers Calabres branch, we will explain all that to you later. What Alain Ouattine explained to us, we will summarize

it for you. Because it's a hell of a job, at least in there. I think it's at least 10 years of work. It's almost more than research in there which is very old. First, know that muliers are a very, very, very large family. The muliers today are extremely numerous. The descendants of the first muliers number in the tens of thousands. So to find our way around, we distinguish them by the names of the wives. Hello Mrs. Our host, for example, is a scabrous mulier. There you go, so this is the famous photo of the entire

Mulier family gathered together, so in 1943. In the middle of the Second World War, 250 Muliers gathered for a birthday party. We discover a bourgeois family, with their formal outfits, their monks in cassocks, gathered around the matriarch. So it's Madame Lumier-Éloi, she's the great-great-great-grandmother of all the people in the photo in 1943. Do you have your parents? Yes, for example my parents are here, that's my mother. That's it, he's smoking at a loss and is here. In this family, one branch interests us in particular. Les Mulliers-Lestiennes, named after Louis Mullier and his wife, Marguerite Lestienne.

The descendants of this discreet couple will become billionaires. At the beginning of the 20th century, Louis and Marguerite were small industrialists from Roubais. They own several woolen mills, but do not stand out. It is one of their sons who will propose a small revolution. Become a trader. Sell ​​their own wool in stores. 1945 was the birth of the Fildar boutiques, the economically leading family. Since Louis and Marguerite, the founding couple, Lestienne muliers have multiplied. And a business empire was born. In this representation, each point corresponds to a mulier. The second generation created Fildar. The grandchildren

invent Auchan, Kiabi, Saint-Maclou, Flunch, Décathlon, Kiloutou. 125 years after the marriage of Louis and Marguerite, the Muliers Lestiennes have 6 generations and 1550 members. An extraordinary growth compared to the average births in France. The Mulier family, whatever the branches, has always been very Catholic. And so, not surprisingly, some families had 14 children. Therefore , it is obvious that the descendants are extremely numerous. These values ​​are what muliers like to highlight. They are passed down from generation to generation, to the point of being able to claim their strict respect since... Well, from the first known ancestor

to the current generation, the values ​​have been respected. Not mentioned, I don't think, of any muliers who made deviations. I think that generally speaking, despite the numbers, all family, Christian and work values ​​have been respected until today. Ah yes, that’s a lot of centuries of good behavior . These family and work values ​​are so inseparable for the muliers that they have created a structure that brings them together. A Mulier family association, or AFM, which encompasses the entire galaxy of companies and of which only the descendants of Louis Marguerite are shareholders. The AFM is the real

name of the Mulier Empire. Outside of the family, few people know about the organization of the muliers. Even rarer are those who agree to decipher it. There are a lot of shareholders, but there are also a lot of companies, a lot of jobs. It's remarkable. I can't find a comparable example. Not at all in the traditional capitalist system, structures like that. That 's unique. Christine Blondel is a polytechnician. His job is to advise large families in the organization of their affairs. If you want to please him, bring him a genealogy book. What kind of book

is this ? To family genealogy. I brought you some little things. You are informed now. Sorry for the noise. Benoît Boussmar has a doctorate in economics. The first age of capitalism, in the spring, is really good. If you want to please him, submit to him the accounts of the Mullier family. He's been peeling them for 30 years. Outside of the family, He is the one who knows them best, and the one who speaks about them most freely as well. The Mullier family association is a pact that was made by the members of the family at

a given time to have total control of all the family's companies. The idea is that we are all shareholders in the same way in all group companies. This means that each member owns damage, owns... Rochland , owns Greater Berlin, owns Agape, etc. We are all united, in fact, it is a notion of solidarity, the value behind it. All united in business. For this fundamental principle, the muliers have a motto of their own. All in everything. Hold it. All in everything. This unique organization, its 1550 members, we want to meet them. To approach these discreet people,

we decided to put the small papers in the big enemies. Hello, I came to look for a small invitation card on slightly grainy paper. Cash is trying a new approach. It'll be good, I think. It feels like it. A great interview, we told each other. We are pleased to invite you to an exchange with Élise Lucet as part of a documentary which will be broadcast in the Cache d'Investigation on France 2. And because we really believe in it, Élise will hand-deliver our invitations herself. Near Lille, the family meets in a general assembly. That’s good, we

had some gno. Someone told us the date. We come to distribute invitation cards. Just for that. Maybe I'll give you an invitation card, right? Thank you so much. Do you take care of it too? Yes. Hello, can I give you this? And this is an invitation to meet, we would love to meet you. We are doing a report on the Mullier family and you have all the details. And we would be delighted to be able to discuss with you this important family for the French economy and to see with you how it works. Thank you

ma'am, I wish you a good stadium. THANKS. It starts well. Hello, I am Élise Lucet, France 2, Cache d’Investigation. Let me give you an invitation. We are doing a report on the Mullier family and we would love to do interviews with the family. Thank you, answer us if you want, of course, it will be welcome. THANKS. There's a little bit of secrecy. It’s discretion. Discretion. Ok. I have some food. With his normal appearance, Jérôme Saki is an eminent member of the family. This cousin was entrusted with a mission that was almost impossible for a Mullier.

press release. This is the General Assembly today, right? And what happens in a General Assembly? Because we are usually in General Assemblies, in fact, the press is accepted. And there, in fact, the press is not authorized, we agree. And what happens then? Because it's private, I have private. But what is happening? I mean, is there a renewal of president? There are lots of things. There is a very specific agenda. There are things happening. There are family meetings. around the management of these matters. Not very talkative, the communicator, but we have hope. Hello ma'am, I am

Alice Lucet, France 2, this is an invitation that I would like to give you on behalf of the Cache Investigation team. So we continue with a smile, of course. Hello Sir. Sir, ah clever, the windshield wipers. Among the muliers, we were very very friendly. Good morning. But our new approach to business... Hello! was ultimately not very successful. Good morning ! Hello, hello! Miss, have no fear, it's just a little invitation card, that's just it. That day, between 800 and 1500 muliers gathered to talk. Information that we would have liked to clarify with Jérôme Sacchi. There

are more than 1000 of you today, there, in... And today, there are a certain number of us. Some. That's not a secret, is it? There is no secret? Several hundred. Several hundred or more than a thousand? Several hundred, so a little less than a thousand, right? Yes, it depends. You find certain information in the press, there is no secret, there is discretion, it's very different, that's all. And then why this discretion? Because we want to live like everyone else, like everyone else. We are used to saying, and I will stop afterwards, to say that we

are ordinary people who do things. Sometimes, indeed, little out of the same. We are different people. What humility! This is rather unusual among large entrepreneurs. Thank you very much and see you soon, I hope. We have the invitation. I'll give you one, here, it's important. THANKS. Beautiful day. Have a nice day, Jérôme. Okay, okay, okay. Since then, no one has responded to us. Not a postcard. Nothing. It must be said that the muliers organized themselves to be as discreet as possible. FM, unlike the large CAC 40 companies that you know, has never been listed on

the stock exchange. When you are listed on the stock exchange, you are obliged to publish a report every year, the company accounts, the consolidated accounts. There is a form of obligatory transparency. The authority of financial markets makes it so that you cannot escape anything. Whereas when you are not listed, you report to no one. So it's quite simple, if you are not rated, you have nothing to say and you have nothing to do. Is there a desire for opacity in this family? Initially, certainly. There was a desire for opacity because they did not want to

publish a certain number of companies. They want to remain discreet, they don't want to show that they are that powerful. It's one of the most powerful families in France, in fact. There is no photo. Opacity? The muliers would certainly not use the term again. But one of our interlocutors, who worked closely with them, confirms this desire to hide the family success. It is an opaque operation, totally opaque, which is based on the rule known benefit equals lost benefit. This explains the fact that they are not transparent, that they never wanted to go public. Known profit

equals lost profit. Don't give away what you earn, that's really a Northern thing . There are big families from the North. To get an idea of ​​the power of the muliers, we returned to our old methods. Do you recognize it? With a discreet camera, we try to enter another AG of the FM. Good morning. Is this family? No. Oh no, I don't wake up, I don't know that one. From which family? Ah, this legendary discretion. In any case, we know where we are. For Muliers, general shareholder meetings are a big family celebration. We come there

with the children. Come on, come on, let's hurry up the gossip. And the grandparents, obviously, are on cloud nine. Inside, the same relaxed atmosphere. They came, they are all here. Even Gérard, over there, in the back. The 93-year-old patriarch, founder of Auchamp. In this great cousinhood, neither tie nor kennis tie. But make no mistake, the family association is a multinational. That day, she looks at the future of Auchan, for example, or Adeo, the parent company of King Merlin. Precisely, its general director comes to report. Doubling the turnover per store is a salary project. The French

shop in the thousands every day. But nothing ever filters out about the real state of the family's finances . That day, we ended up being spotted. Jean, are you there? No, thank you. Are you waiting for someone? Yes. That's to say ? How ? That's to say ? I'm waiting for a friend. Yes. Yes, well, we're going to go there . Until now, the mulier AGs have remained secret. No journalists were able to attend. But after months of research, we managed to obtain an internal video from 2022. A dive into the family's economic secrets. Dear

families, dear friends, your management council is very happy to see you back in person after three years without most of you. The full capture of an AGM And not just any AGM. The first to be held in person after Covid and a succession of major economic crises. Yellow vests, Covid crisis, Ukraine-Russia war, these are not events spread over 20 years, they are events spread over two and a half years. The risks encountered were real and serious. Barthélémy Guillain, the president of the association and member of the family, presents the financial results to his shareholder cousins.

at the heart of the AFM reactor. These figures, which you are about to hear, the muliers have never revealed. It is in this context, at least particular, that our All in Everything group progresses by 16%. That is to say an increase in real euros, if you allow me to put it like that, of 4.7 billion euros. This is a growth that we have forgotten since 1998. This progression is not ordinary. She is not ordinary. Barthélémy, finally! Let's say it, extraordinary. And this, despite the Covid crisis. At the end of 2021, professional wealth, that is to

say the valuation of all AFM companies, reached 33.683 billion euros. When we told you that the elderly muliers were a party. Parthélémy Guillain is also responsible for distributing the gifts. 674 million euros in dividends which land in the pockets of 900 family members. The amount of net dividends received will increase quite significantly for most shareholders. I invite you... to do what you want, but to prioritize investment in your entrepreneurship or of course investment in AFM, faithful to our family culture. Even when it comes to their personal wealth, the muliers are politely asked to do as

they are told. Under the guise of family culture, we can say that they have a lot of pressure. Here is an anthology of mottos that the family likes to highlight. We are here to serve, not to serve ourselves. Noise does no good, good does not make noise. Money is like blood. There is strength in numbers. We obtained an internal work from the AF. A guide, written by one of its members, entitled Doing Business as a Family. As is often the case in the great industrial families of the North, it contains principles inspired by Christian social

thought. The little red guide provides insight to members who may be a little lost. Especially on a subject that is important, when you are millions rich. What are taxes for? By paying taxes, we contribute to the establishment of social justice. On this subject, family doctrine is very clear. But are these values ​​put into practice? Or are they part of the Mulier myth? You will see that when it comes time to checkout, for some, the main principles do not weigh very heavily. Isn't that right, Voltaire? It's the Belgian white-blue breed here, so you are in Belgium,

it's the suspicious one. And so it is a typically Walloon breed. You see, the relationship between our rich French entrepreneurs and Belgian cows. Désiré Négel understood immediately . It must be said that he has seen a change here. 40 years ago, there were more than 40 farmers on the fields. And today, there must still be 8 of us. At the end of his field, houses appeared like this working and agricultural village had never known. Mulier houses. It’s really changed, hasn’t it? Does it no longer resemble what you experienced in France? No, no, no. There was

nothing here . We saw France, I mean. There was nothing, it was fields. What's new? Here you have a property of a mulier which is really in the center of the trees. So it's been wooded and the house is really hidden in the middle. But I mean, it's not a house... Like everyone else, it's a house like you see on TV, in the movies. This cinema house, in the middle of its wooded park, here it is. It belongs to Patrick Mullier, one of the family patriarchs and founder of Kiyabu. Just to the right, along the

main street of Nechin, One of his daughters owns the white house. And it's not over yet. Adjacent to its pond, the house built by Jean Mullier, one of Patrick's brothers, now deceased. Moreover, now, the inhabitants of Nechat say that Boulevard des Mulliers is no longer Rue Granastride, it is Boulevard des Mulliers. There are so many of them there. Yes, there are so many of them. Since when have some Mulliers declared this love of the countryside? Here are some clues. In this aerial archive from 1971, no trace of a large house was born. There are mainly

fields. In 1994, in the same place, construction was slow. In the middle of the meadows, wooded parks appear. What happened between these two ladies? 3, 2, 1... In 1981, François Mitterrand was elected president. It creates the solidarity tax on wealth. Some muliers flee the ISF and leave France. In the tax exile genre, there is nothing more practical. Here, we are in France. There we are in Belgium. Hello Mr. MP. Good morning. Everything is brilliant on Garcia. Thank you for welcoming us to your home, we are at your home. We are in Belgium here, yes. In

fact we are on the border, truly Franco-Belgian. A few meters away we are in France, in Tout-Lerce. Not far from the Lille area. Marco Van Hesse is a tax official. This former Belgian MP was passionate about the exile of the muliers in Nechin, his constituency. Obviously, they settled here because it's close to their work, we agree. It's not the primary reason, but it helps, obviously, that it's close. But the primary reason is obviously fiscal, since they benefit from Belgian taxation. They benefited greatly from it at the time when the ISF affected their assets. And given

that there is no wealth tax in Belgium, they made quite substantial tax savings. Even though the ISF was abolished by Emmanuel Macron in 2018, more than a hundred thousand still live in Belgium. Hey, by the way, here's one passing by while filming us. Good morning. Why does he stay in Belgium? Marco Van Hesse was able to analyze information inaccessible in France, the accounts of their Belgian personal company. In particular... The hodingue of Patrick Mullier, one of the founding patriarchs. Here he is the founder of Kiabi, he is not just anyone who is at the end

of the store, millions of customers around the world. It is in Belgium that the creator of Kiabi reaps at least part of the dividends distributed during family AGMs. Members of the Mullier family, notably Patrick Mullier. who settled in Belgium. He also created companies in Belgium, holding companies, family holding companies, we will say, since it is owned by himself and his daughters. And these holding companies hold stakes in other companies in the family, in the group. They receive dividends, and these dividends are practically not taxed. I have some numerical indications here. In 2014, this company achieved

372 million euros in profits for people who have a health problem . And how much tax does it pay on these 372 million euros in profits? 2 euros. 2 euros of taxes on 372 million. That 's the particularity of this company. You're talking to me about 2014, but if we take more recent figures, 2021 for example, I don't know. If you take 2021, there are 221 euros of tax on 43 million profits. We stay in proportion. There are years when it is downright zero euros of tax on several million profits. The Belgian MP has made

his calculations. Between 2014 and 2022, the personal holding company of Patrick Mullier and his daughters recorded profits of 466 million euros. At the same time, she paid just over 2 million euros in taxes. Over the period, the average tax rate is 0.5%, in line with corporate income taxation in Belgium. It's practically no tax, in fact. It's the same thing with the cousins, with the brothers, they are a little further down the street. We have the same type of situation, so very few taxes are paid, on companies in fact which are holders. From a really very

large stock portfolio. If we talk about this Patrick Mullier company, we have an action portfolio of around 1 billion euros. So it obviously pays a lot of dividends, and these dividends are taxed very little. Belgium looks a lot like a tax haven for some Mulliers. Good morning. We might have one or two questions to ask them. Hello Mrs. There was a lady, but no one. Patrick is invisible, but visibly he sees us. Hello Sir. I'm on the owner's call. Yes. On his private door. But there's no sidewalk, does that mean around here? No, I had

to take it off everyone suddenly. Of course. And it’s Patrick Nuvier directly who’s calling you, or? In fact, yes, there are his cameras, there is surveillance, there is a man, there is someone. Ah well, there is someone then. Ok. Well, thank you very much. Good day. Come on, have a nice day. Say hello to Patrick anyway. Bye. Goodbye, thank you. Fortunately, Patrick is not the only Mule patriarch in Nechon. In an adjacent street, the founder of Saint-Mathieu also lives. Gonzague Mullier occupies an old farm. This time, no portal to keep us away. Hello ma'am, Gabriel

Garcia, I work for France 2, I am looking for a Gonzague Mullier joint. You have to look for it. THANKS. Luck smiles on us. We wait. Can't find it? We changed 5 minutes because the user can invite anywhere. The house is that big! And at the office, he wasn't... Impossible to find Gonzague. Don't buy so big. Rue Rennes-Astride, some members of the family have moved recently. But not very far. Do you know if she stayed in the town? No way. Okay, thank you very much, have a nice day. And by the way, for the exiles

from Nechin, returning to France could be a possibility too, right? Let's ask another member of the Mullier family, based in the same wave. Gabriel Garcia for France 2, excuse me, I'm disturbing you while you're gardening. In fact, we are preparing a portrait of the family of entrepreneurs on France 2. I don't know if you've heard about it because we distributed invitations to the AGM 10 days ago. So, it’s also biwa moussou, right? Yes, and that I have already seen. There is a question that perhaps concerns you more directly regarding your installation in Belgium. It doesn't

keep the press. We were talking about tax exile, is that... I have no comment. Okay, okay. I've been here 30 years, I don't have any comments. Now that there is no more ISF, would the idea of ​​returning to France interest you? Today, I don't have to respond to it. It's not the press that's going to tell us what's true, otherwise we're going to make one. But in any case, I'm making one. I'll have to go beyond that. It's almost my system. We'll stop there. Okay, good. In any case, you have a beautiful flower bed. Yes,

that's what I want. Good day. In their exile, some muliers also benefit from a tax agreement with Belgium. Anonymously, an agent from the Bercy investigation services agreed to decipher it for us. He reveals to us that certain members of the family, multi-owners, would engage in gymnastics that were, to say the least, acrobatic. Succeed in proving that they have nowhere to reside in France. It's a real organization, actually. The real advice, if you will, is to not have to pay their taxes. In particular taxes on society magazines. Let's see. What did the red family guide say

again? By paying taxes, we contribute to the establishment of social justice. A family member agreed to comment on this tax exile. It was in 2012. Gérard Mullier. the founder of Auchan, resides in France for tax purposes. But he defends his relatives living in Belgium. There are a few, not many, retirees, who left for Belgium around thirty years ago, it's true. Because their personal vocation is to always reinvest the dividends that are distributed and their savings, to always invest them in companies, because they think that the important thing... is to create jobs. And I, personally, find

that it is more important to create lasting employment than, excuse me, to pay certain taxes. Confirm that a few members of your family have left for tax reasons. What I confirm, madam, is that I have lived here for 81 years, that since the arrival of the left in 1981, people claim that I live in Belgium. Recently, it was also claimed in the newspapers that I lived in Switzerland. He's fed up. Don't get upset, dear. We understood that you were united on this subject. Besides, among thousands, solidarity is serious. Remember those stories about everyone in everything?

These companies whose shares and profits we share? Well, family members stick together. And they like to tell each other about it like in this family video. We have been condemned to good understanding. We are all minorities. We have managed to maintain family unity in the fourth and fifth generation and group cohesion in such a large number. Well imagine that behind this apparent equality, we discovered a good one. In the AFM, there are in fact small and large shareholders. We in everything does not mean all equal. All in all, that means that everyone has a little

of everything, but there are people who have a lot of a little of everything. If we take a Patrick Mullier, he weighs at least a billion euros with his children, his daughters. This is not representative of the family. There are hundreds of members of the Mullier clan, they do not each have a billion euros. It could be Pilates. Because the children of the children of the children, and there are quite a few of them in the family, it gets diluted. Some have spoken of family communism regarding the Mûlier family, but we see that it is

still a situation where inequality prevails. We are in a family community. We are not in family communism. Communism is not that. In the great aquarium of FM, so there are big ones and small ones. Oh, this one is big. And this one is very small. Imagine that there are even separate species. These are the family heirlooms. They are different and they get bullied sometimes. This is what happened to a certain Hervé Dubli, the son-in-law of Patrick Mullier, founder of Kiabil. For the first time, a relative agreed to talk to us behind the scenes of this

affair. It's an actress who repeats her words. Hervé Dubli is married to Priscillia Mullier, who is one of Patrick Mullier's five daughters. He himself is a brilliant guy, who had brilliant studies and who has a brilliant job when he falls in love and is debauched by his father-in-law. In this story, the big fish are called Patrick and Gérard Mullier. At the time... The two brothers had just acquired a pharmaceutical company. They appoint Hervé Dubli president. The ideal son-in-law develops the business and has four children with Priscilla Mulier. But after ten years of good and loyal

service, our witness says he was thanked. Overnight, his access is cut off, his assistant's door is closed and he is asked to announce his resignation to all the international executives who were gathered without his knowledge in a meeting room. It's quite brutal. It's quite brutal, yes. It's so... He tells his wife that his father kicked him out and she tells him "I'm telling you more news, I intend to divorce him". More than dismissal, it is divorce that the Mulliers see as a danger. Suddenly, Hervé Dubli goes from the status of added value, as the family

members say, to that of persona non grata. He must return his actions to the AFM. In the statutes, it is clearly specified that one must be, directly or indirectly, a descendant of Louis Mullier-Lassienne. So there is no ambiguity on that at all. Love comes after business. That means that when you're a spouse in the Mullier family, you're still in an ejection seat, right? It is at the cost of these evictions that the Mulliers maintain their unity and ensure that the business remains in the family. Why can divorce be difficult when it is not planned in

advance? This is because, in effect, the spouse, once divorced, may find himself with shares in the company which may pass to children from a second marriage, etc. And so, if a family business wishes to keep control within the family, defined as the descendants of the founders, there is a risk of ultimately losing control of the business. Behind the solidarity displayed, the family does not necessarily have feelings. It's business. Generally speaking, it's business as usual. And you can't imagine what composure they can have. They're the biggest guys I've ever seen. And with a relaxation, a good

nature. They are great professionals. In this story, the great professionals still bit their fingers a little. Because after his ouster, Hervé Dubli feels cheated. He decides to bring the fairy to justice one fine morning in 2016 in Nechon. Searches at one of the French retail giants. A judicial investigation is opened for suspicion of tax fraud. A search took place this Tuesday morning at the home of Patrick Mullier in Nechon. Of this search, requested by French justice, there are only these few images filmed by local television. From Patrick Mullier, the ex-father-in-law of Hervé Dubli, investigators allegedly

seized financial information and accounts. In Paris, two members of the family are indicted by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office as well as three FM holding companies. The investigation will last ten years. This instruction will result in an order dismissing the case in August 2024. But the matter does not stop there. Hervé Dubli appealed. Is the eviction of Hervé Dubli an isolated situation? Do his internal conflicts only concern the little fish in the world? What would be nice is to talk about it with a family member. Oh no, not Loulou and Pippine. There you go, Francky.

Francky is rather a big fish among the muliers. But to hear her say, being the direct cousin of Patrick and Gérard did not protect her from the family's methods. In 1980, you created the Kidutu company. How did you come up with this idea? So I had already created a chain of DIY stores in the 70s. And I managed to make 10% of the turnover simply from rentals. I said to myself, I'm going to reinvent a profession, we can create a chain of equipment rental companies. It didn't exist at the time? It didn't exist, no. It

existed in America and England. Not in France. To my knowledge in France, there was none. But the family didn't help you too much, then? My father, I was tiring him, so he wanted to watch over me in his own way. He had the cousins ​​watch me, but it didn't work. We didn't get along. They didn't understand that I wasn't making money after a year. I asked them to wait 5 years and they didn't want to wait. They had 25% of the capital, plus my brother's 30% , and they decided to fire me. So I was

fired for 24 hours. Time to go see my father and get him to buy them back. I was lucky to have a father who understood that I could be trusted. But at this point we need to have patient shareholders who do not want to receive dividends straight away, who are willing to wait 7 years. It's normal. Setting up a business takes 7 years to be able to satisfy the financiers. But when they wanted to fire you, how did you take it? It felt like a stab in the back. Oh yes. So I went completely crazy.

I went to see my father and told him, you put my brother in my way to train him, but he will never understand anything in business. Please correct your mistake, give me something to make it up to. You only had to help me , but you didn't need to help him. But you thought your cousins, your brother, could do this to you? I never thought someone could stab me in the back. I was stunned. Because what's more, they didn't buy back my shares. Otherwise, I would bring up something else myself. At the muliers, we talked

to you about family. Now we're going to take you to the business side. Because well beyond the historic brands, the AFM has nearly 130 companies that you come across every day, such as Jules, Midas or Pizza Pie. This galaxy makes us northerners the leading French employers in the world. 650,000 people work for us. To get there, the muliers follow a simple recipe. Since 1961, they have copied the same business concept. That of Auchan and its founder, the essential Gérard Mullier. Gérard on a bike, Gérard in jogging, Gérard in a suit. So what is this process,

Gérard? A slogan is about selling more and more quality items to more and more customers . at increasingly cheaper prices. That 's our slogan on the economic level. It is the business project on an economic level. This model is that of discounting. Gérard Mulier imports it from the United States. In the 1960s, he suffered from this in the north of France. Did you lose money in the first few years? The first years were very hard. As long as we didn't cut prices, we lost money. When we started to cut prices, we had a lot of

customers, we took little margin per item, so... Little margin per customer. There is a big yes. And the figure is gone. The figure is gone. The figure is gone. And when we have an idea that makes money, at the emulator, we take out the photocopier. Yes, yes, that's really how he told me. Come on, come on, this way, please. With Auchan, the emulator begins by reducing food prices. So it's blood. Just copy. With who dresses, they extend the concept to clothing. It's life, the love of little cries. At King Merlin's, your dreams are finally borne

of moss. King Merlin, and I say hello. Each time, it is about providing access to a good or service, by lowering the bill. Lunch. Here it is allowed. For 60 years, the discount store has brought billions to the family. The Auchan copy, which carries this model the highest today, the one on which the family is pinning all its hopes, is... is it a paper jam or what? It's what ? Is it the pool? Oh well yes, maybe that’s it. Oh but yes! It’s Decathlon! Decathlon, through its exclusive, very affordable and increasingly technical offer, aims to

move from a distribution brand to a leading brand preferred by the French and soon by athletes around the world. With its 15 billion euros in turnover in 2023, a result doubled during Covid, the brand several times voted favorite of the French is booming. Decathlon brands, with their bizarre names, even compete with the major equipment manufacturers. In French football Ligue 1, the Kipsta ball has replaced that of Puma or Adidas. In basketball... The Tarmac brand is now a partner of the prestigious American NBA. Decathlon is therefore not just a seller. It has become a globally successful

manufacturer. An industrialist who controls his production costs down to the smallest detail. He will deal with problematic subcontractors. We had to talk about this return to the industry with the founders of the brand. But at the last moment, Decathlon management prohibited them from speaking out. So, we found other playmates. A journalist from the media Disclose, our partner in this investigation, and a high-level executive from Decathlon. He is in regular contact with subcontracting factories. He is an actor who repeats his words. It is a low cost airline. We only talked about his organization. In Bangladesh, Vietnam

and China, Decathlon does not work with the best suppliers. Obviously, having the best is expensive. To lower its costs, Decathlon goes much further than the Auchan model. Far from the simple role of merchant, the Mullier company has regained control of all manufacturing and industrial production. We submit to the Decathlon framework dozens of internal documents that we have obtained. They detail in particular the manufacturing costs of Quechua or Newfield products, like this small pair of sneakers. At 25 euros, this basic for children is in fact a large industrial machine. Decathlon's production volumes are enormous. For example,

this model, in one year, at least 3 million copies are produced, in Bangladesh alone. There are different colors, but imagine, 3 million. And there are several models that sell as much at Decathlon. I don't know of many Nike models that sell 3 million pairs in a year. These production volumes are one of Decathlon's secrets for lowering its prices. And then the other secret is that Decathlon knows its costs. that others don't have. Decathlon is not content to entrust the manufacturing of its sneakers to a modest factory in Bangladesh. The French also controls every gesture of

its subcontractor. Our documents show that he is on top of everything, as if it were his own factory. So here we are well on the cost part. Our model, this one, that's it, okay? It is PW 540. It is the same. And you see... In this box, for example, we see that Decathlon estimates that it takes 70 minutes, 96 to make a pair of this little sneaker. In fact, they know everything about this factory. They know its electricity consumption, the number of workers, their salaries, their hours. They can even calculate the cost per minute. Ah

yes, there. Oh yes, that's it. So CPM is where per minute, actually. For every minute worked. Decathlon pays 3 cents in this factory. Thanks to its quest for the lowest costs, Decathlon is able to list each of the 73 parts that make up its shoe. This front reinforcement, for example. But also the scratch and down to the smallest sewing thread. The company knows their costs, of course. But more rare, it is also able to indicate the subcontractors who supply these parts. In column C, you have the different parts of the sneaker with the name of

each part. Then in column G, you find the supplier of each of these parts. Ah yes, that is to say that if we take line 14 for example, we have a part which is a protection for the shoe shield and which is manufactured by Longxiang, a Chinese company perhaps. Yes, it is a Chinese supplier. In fact, Decathlon knows 100% of the components that go into the manufacturing of each product. The company knows where they come from, but it is even able to tell its subcontractor where to buy them and at what price. So clearly, Decathlon

knows its production chain in more detail than other major brands. They are really strong at Decathlon. So skilled, in terms of procurement, that the company claims to know its subcontractors on three levels. Its direct subcontractors, of course, but also their subcontractors. And even the subcontractors of the subcontractors of the subcontractors. On this sneaker, Decathlon is able to tell where the cotton or nylon in each thread comes from. But this expertise also makes it possible to select the most virtuous suppliers. This is what the Northern company promises. On its website, it even makes it a guarantee

of confidence for the consumer. To verify this, we obtained an internal list. 1,721 active Decathlon suppliers at the end of 2022. Shoe and electronics factories. Nearly 30% are Chinese. And among these, one company caught our attention. Qingdao Jifu. In internal documents, the company is presented as a large account. It is one of the brand's main textile suppliers. But it is also a large group suspected of forced labor. The name of this company appears in particular in an open letter that American deputies sent to their government in 2023. These elected representatives of Congress are calling for

sanctions against Chinese companies that allegedly use forced labor of Uyghur populations. They are even demanding that their products be banned from importing into the United States. Among the targeted companies, Kingdao Jifa. and its subsidiaries. King Daojifa Group, King Daojifa Import & Export, Xinjiang Xirong Closing. To find out more about the suspicions hanging over this partner of Decathlon, you would have to go to Washington, to the United States Congress. But hey, it’s still far away, right? Oh no, look, it's right there. Nice Stetson Texan. It is in the American capital that doctor Adrian Zenz works. He

is the first researcher to have proven the existence of forced labor among Uyghurs. That day, he spoke at the Capitone. Here is the invitation. He is not a little proud. You know, it was my research that led the US government to ban cotton from Xinjiang in January 2021. Is that there? Yes, it's good here. Just enter there. This research feeds into Congressional reports, such as the one that targets King Daojifa, the Decathlon subcontractor. Adrian Zenz is regularly interviewed on the situation of the Uighurs, who live in the Xinjiang region. a huge territory located in the

west of China. Gathering forced labor evidence is becoming increasingly difficult. And China benefits from this opacity. Faced with elected officials and their teams, the researcher relies on the rare images of the region which may have leaked in recent years, such as this video. At the foot of the wagons, in purple, we see Uighurs, blindfolded, with their hands tied. Like them, an estimated one million members of this Muslim minority were forcibly confined in camps by Beijing, suspected of lacking loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Xinjiang is almost inaccessible to journalists, but we can confirm that at

least one factory based there has produced for Decathlon. This is Xinjiang Xirong, with its blue roofs in its satellite images. A huge textile factory, built by Qingdao Jifa in the heart of the Uighu region. Thanks to Chinese social networks, we discover a brand new industrial zone, where the company employs more than 1,000 Uyghus. Only these few images from an official visit allow us to discover the interior of the place. On the website of the regional textile union, we made a discovery. In a 2021 article, Xinjiang-Xiong boasts of producing for Westerners and first cites Decathlon and

Orsay, two companies in the bullier galaxy. But forced labor of Uyghurs is no longer limited to Xinjiang. In recent years, in the face of criticism, it has taken other forms. The Chinese government is forcibly exiling workers from their homes. Today, the most insidious and discreet form of repression is the displacement of forced workers. Very many Uighurs, millions even, have been kidnapped in the countryside and forced to work in factories, no longer camps, but secure factories where Uighurs are sent in groups and escorted by the authorities, guards or police. This is what the International Labor Organization

describes as forced labor. Because these workers have no choice. It tears them away from their community. It breaks up families. In these Chinese propaganda images, these movements of forced workers are presented as festive events. Uyghurs, sometimes very young, are shown as they leave for the factories. opened up remote countryside for cotton cultivation. Could Mécathlon find itself involved in this forced uprooting through its subcontractor, Kenda Ojifa? We present to you Justine on camera and Marine. Okay, Justine, here we go. These two French journalists are based in China, a country where certain subjects are easier to cover

than others. The gastronomy of the field of names, for example. It’s cute, this little village. So, how is it? It's big. Cache Investigation, they operate under a very practical cover. Culinary influencer. In a restaurant, a little local bouilloui. But in addition to having a good wand, Justine and Marine have real journalistic talent. Go in where no one ever sneaks. in Chinese textile factories. That’s the factory, right? Yeah, that's it. Ah there it is, it's that good, yeah. They are approaching a factory in Qingdao Jifa which appears in our list. We are in Yanggu, in eastern

China, outside of Xinjiang. 36 million euros of Hecatelons clothing would have been released by 2022, according to our information. And to enter, well... We warned you, they have real journalistic talent. Good morning. Excuse me, I'm a little lost. I really need to go to the bathroom. My stomach hurts. There you go, quickly, towards the toilets. We shoot with a discreet camera. As soon as you enter, there is a large panel with four magnifying glasses. In addition to the history of the company, the values ​​of the Mullier brand are displayed. Trust, sharing. Ah, values, even on

the other side of the world. The toilets are over there, at the end. There are men's toilets and women's toilets. Here, more than a hundred workers work exclusively for Decathlon. They sew and assemble. There, a sailor. Further on, a children's basketball jersey. On the table are shorts. It displays the NBA logo. Several pieces are produced by JIFA for the partnership with the American basketball league, including this collar. In another aisle, these workers are preparing a polo shirt for golfers for the French brand. Oh, you're pretty. That’s for men, right? The worker from the neighboring post

attracts our attention. Hello, how old are you? I'm 12 years old. 12 years old? And you work here? I'm here to lend a hand. I came with my mother. Who is your mother? She's over there. It looks like you're working well. THANKS. Do you come to help your mom every day? No, I'm going to school. But during the summer, there is no one at home to take care of me. Just during the summer? Yes. When you're not at school, you come to work, right? Yes. What are you doing ? I button up. Will you show

me? You're doing very well. Spending your vacation at the factory for Decathlon, as she says, when you are 12 years old, is illegal. In China, work is prohibited before the age of 16. But we also have another concern in mind. I don't think it's rigorous. On this day, we do not recognize any Uighur workers in the Qingdao Jifa factory. However, on Chinese social networks, we found several videos that intrigued us. In this same factory, in 2022, a Jifa recruitment manager presents the company. They highlight the hiring of Uighurs and North Koreans, two populations subjected to

forced labor in China. I am speaking to the people of Xinjiang and North Korea. The Chinese state subsidizes your hiring. We are waiting for you to work. We take care of all the administrative formalities. In another video, she appears with a worker identified as Uighur by several of our sources from Xinjiang. The company receives a subsidy from the Chinese state to employ Uyghurs far from home. For experts, this is also part of forced labor. We submit our videos to Adrian Zenz and his assistant. Xinjiang and North Korea. Ok. So they are subsidized. It's very informative.

Companies receive subsidies to employ Uyghurs. To be subsidized, you must participate in a specific policy of the Chinese state. It's alarming. This participation in the Chinese state program confirms that they hire Uyghurs at their company headquarters in eastern China. This also means that their production is linked to forced labor. We're going to show Dr. Zenz another video . It is again thanks to Justine and Marine that we obtained it. In a second factory in Jifa, 30 km from the other, they have once again succeeded. to sneak around. There too, there are workers, the great values

​​of Decathlon and its products as far as the eye can see. But above all there is a confidence that we did not expect from a Kingdao Jifa executive. I can show you around the factory, but we don't allow photos, okay? Yes yes. Ok. She takes us to see the fabrics used to design Hecatlon products. This is our fabric stock. We have a production factory. There are all kinds of fabrics suitable for all kinds of demands. They are stored in this warehouse. Does cotton come from Shandong? Not necessarily, it may come from Xinjiang. There is also

a lot of cotton from Xinjiang? Yes. Xinjiang cotton in Hécatlon products, all in a factory which, according to this display, claims to be a major textile supplier to the French brand. Of course. Shandong produces little cotton. More than 90% of Chinese cotton comes from Xinjiang. This is overwhelming evidence. What do you mean by “overwhelming evidence”? Uyghurs are used to harvest cotton. Hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, through population displacement programs. The government continues to use Uyghurs to pick by hand, while there are more and more machines. The idea of ​​the Chinese state... is that Uyghurs should

not be inactive. They must be employed, because unemployed Uyghurs are a potential threat. How about a company like Decathlon whose products are made from cotton from Xinjiang? The risks are such that anyone connected to this cotton would be subject to the law in the United States and would be considered complicit in the forced labor of Uyghurs and related atrocities. Cotton is a high-risk product. In the United States, Xinjiang cotton is prohibited from import by law. American customs block products suspected of containing it. Decathlon knows the origin of the cotton used by its subcontractor. We manage

to recall the framework of the Chinese factory which showed us the fabrics. According to her, it is the French company which is entirely responsible for the choice of its cottons. The cottons are chosen by Decathlon. They have a specific supplier, we are just a production factory. We assemble the products. But the fabric raw materials are chosen by our customer. We only take care of receiving the fabrics, cutting, sewing and packaging. No specific supplier is targeted, but the warning is very clear. We have received information that your company may be involved in forced labor, arbitrary detention

and trafficking of suspected Uighurs through its supply chain . This letter is addressed to Mathieu Leclef. This member of the Mulier family was CEO of the brand between 2012 and 2018. Socrates, one day, said that you must change to be better than you are. And I think that applies to you, Alexandre, it applies to everyone, but it also applies to the company, to Decathlon. Decathlon confirms that it has received this alert letter and claims to have responded to it in May 2021. We are contacting Mathieu Leclerc's contact by email, in particular regarding this letter. A

few days later, she replied to us. Mathieu Leclerc will not follow up, best regards. So, one beautiful Parisian morning, we go to meet him. Hello Mr. Leclerc, Élise Lucet, France 2, Cache Investigation. I come to see you because the UN sent you a letter of alert in 2021 and Decathlon could be involved in forced labor, arbitrary detention and trafficking of Uyghur people through its supply chain. You are aware, I imagine, you received this letter? Nothing at all. Didn't you receive a letter from the UN? However, this letter is published on the UN website, so you

must have received it. Thank you Madam and I wish you a good day. I will not answer your question. We discovered that a Decathlon supplier called King Dao Jifai, in the sights of the American Congress, for his supposed involvement precisely in the forced labor of Uyghurs, this subcontractor was already working for you at the time when you were president ... Be careful sir, don't beat yourself up. So, this subcontractor already worked for you, for Decathlon, when you were its president, between 2012 and 2018. So, I wanted... Are you asking what you thought about it? Mr

Leclerc? Élise, I think we'll stop there. We must face the facts, Mr. Leclerc will not answer any of your questions. Luckily, we found someone else to talk to about Uyghurs and cotton. Remember the letter from Congress suspecting Kinga Ogifa of forced labor? Well, we have a meeting with his co-author. An American deputy who was very, very curious to discover the elements of our investigation. Congressman, thank you for your time. I am Gabriel. Gabriel, nice to meet you. And my colleague Mathias. Gabriel, like the angel. I would like that. That's great, but I'm not sure. Mr.

John Moulinard and his elected colleagues on the committee have a huge responsibility. identify suspect companies and propose banning their products in the United States. We submit to him our discoveries on the origin of the cotton used by Decathlon. When we collect this type of information, in our country, you know, we become very litigious. And there, it's... how should I put it... it's irrefutable proof. We knew there were suspicions. Now we have solid evidence. For me, it is very important not to finance these products, not to condone this situation and to say it loud and clear.

These tights were made by the same company. If you want to take a look... It's an NBA licensed product from the French brand Decathlon. Is it a problem to have an American license produced in this company that would use Xinxiang cotton? Of course, this is a huge problem. I think the NBA needs to respond publicly to this situation. And I think that if they don't react, NBA players are complicit in this situation. They have the opportunity to speak publicly and I invite them to do so. What message would you send to Decathlon? Well, I tell

them, there are suspicions of forced labor at your subcontractor. So it’s up to you to market these products. that it is up to you to demonstrate that you are not an accomplice. In matters of forced labor, it is the company that imports the suspect products that must prove its innocence. In the United States, Decathlon does not have any stores. But its products are indeed sold on the Internet and at the supermarket giant, Walmart. Since then, we have contacted Decathlon. They refused any interview, but responded to us in writing. Here is their response on the forced

labor of Uyghurs and the child who worked for one of their subcontractors. The audits carried out at our request in 2022 and 2023 did not reveal such a situation. Concerning cotton which would originate from Xinjiang, We are also continuing our efforts towards complete traceability of our supply chain. Finally, regarding the Xingxiongxiong company, which employs Uyghurs, we have no knowledge of its presence in our extended supply chain. We're not going to lie, this story of forced labor got in the way. Not morale. And then, the muliers never respond. But fortunately, one of them will put us

on one last line of inquiry. What is this QR code? I'm glad this book exists. That 's a mulier's voice. Wouldn’t it be Thierry? But yes! Thierry, the gentleman who dances on the floor. He chaired the FM for 16 years and in this recording, he speaks covertly of a little-known reality, the extent of family failures. The sum of our successes is far greater than the sum of our failures, even if the failures have been numerous. That many? Really ? Now that you mention it, it's well worth a quick look in our archives. Beautiful large textile

brand in the region is threatened, art thread. In 2020... Fildar goes to the commercial court. The news is also this announcement from Flunch restaurants. 39 will close. In 2021, 980 layoffs at Flunch. And there it was, a mixed Christmas Eve was ahead for the employees of the brand and Pimki. In 2022, the muliers must sell Pimki. And in November 2024, it's the family standard-bearer who makes the headlines. It is therefore a bolt from the blue for employees and customers of large stores. Auchan, the brand, announces more than 2,000 job cuts and the closure of numerous

stores. When the family's stores close, Stéphane Ducrot is never far away. This lawyer from Lille defended the employees of Auchan, Saint-Maclou, Fildard, but also Pimki. He knows by heart the strategies of the muliers in the face of economic difficulties. What is the relationship of family to failure, in your opinion? I think this is something that is indeed difficult for them to experience. They don't like failure, and these are business models that they have created. And I think that the Mullier family does not want to give the image of an employer who is disinterested in its

economic difficulties. And the Mullier family does not want us to sully their name and say that they separated from employees in absolutely deplorable conditions. One way or another... They want solutions that don't seem like infinite failures. Transform failures into success. With methods that, even in the business world, have made more than one person jump. We will tell you a story in which the family managed to clear their debts. Yes, yes, you heard correctly. It happened at Alinea's house. A chain of decoration and furniture stores launched by the Mullier family. In 2020, a social plan is

announced. Nearly 1,000 jobs are threatened. 17 out of 26 stores must close. In the north of France, near Elim-Beaumont, we find a former employee of Alinea. Edi Schlang worked in one of the stores that went out of business. We always say to ourselves that it's a shame, that it's a waste. So there, we arrive in the Auchan shopping area, with the different brands of the Mulier family. In 2020, Eddy was also the main unionist to face the Mullier family, at Alinea. Opposite the Auchan Drive store, we had the Alinea store, which is here on the

right. I sometimes pass by and inevitably think back to the last movements we were able to make, the protest movements before the closure. It all happened here, in the parking lot. Eddy was fired. Four years later, he takes stock of this social breakdown in his store. To my knowledge, of the 60 employees, none of these people have been reclassified. We also have to talk about the seniority that people also had within the store. There are people who have spent 20 years in the same company. We'll find... Another job overnight like that, it's complicated to move

on to another job, to retrain, it's complicated. At the time, the general director of Alinea, Alexis Mullier, announced that his company's coffers were empty. He can no longer pay suppliers and salaries. For him, the person responsible is obvious. I would like to remind you that this Covid crisis has been extremely difficult in retail, in commerce. That for companies in good health, it is already hard, but for companies in turnaround, like Alinea, it is an insurmountable wall. His arguments, that's it. It’s Covid, the yellow vests, the different crises. In his speech, he does not take responsibility.

Alexis Mullier's company is headed straight for liquidation. The legal procedures in this situation are a bit technical. So we found someone. To enlighten you, this gentleman in a black suit is a law professor. Pierre-Michel Lecor is a rare specimen, a specialist in burials, those of businesses, of course. Between us, we call ourselves bankrupts. It's a family where we get along quite well, in truth. And in his little family, there is a big principle that applies to the boss in the event of bankruptcy. As far as we are concerned, under the law of companies in difficulty,

anyone who can no longer pay their debts must get out of the Seine. He should not be allowed to continue his activity after getting rid of his debts. This is not appropriate. Because it brings discredit to the entire economic functioning. Well noted, Professor. In spring 2020, the Marseille court is following the Alinea case. Normally, the judges would have had to sell back to the INEA to the highest bidder to repay the accumulated debts. Several buyers are also in the running. But it happened differently. Because in the middle of the epidemic, the government publishes an order.

This new legislative text will allow the family to transform their bankruptcy into success. Alinea is a brand which has had economic difficulties and which benefited from the Covid provisions which allowed business managers to file for bankruptcy and then buy their own company. It was an exception, it lasted six months. Buying your own bankrupt company? Yes. And that's not all. The ordinance also allows buyers to erase these dwarfs. And that, for our law professor, does not work. We are destabilizing the economic system, since other business chains in the same sector of activity will not have cleared

their debts. They will continue their activity while paying their debts. And what is it called? It's the competition of the loyal, it seems to me. Do you see an injustice there? Yes, clearly. You who have been following these subjects for... 30 years. 40 years old. Before this Covid period, had you already seen large companies giving in to themselves by erasing their debts? No, I hadn't heard of that. And it looked like it was fraud. The muliers therefore took advantage of an exception legally. A great windfall which allowed them to erase tens of millions of euros

of Alinea's debts. But how much exactly? To make the calculations, we call upon an accountant and former judge. Better yet, Michel Di Martino was president of a commercial court during the Covid crisis. He weighed down the judgment of his colleagues in Marseille. Yes, Gabriel, I did a little calculation. Yes, I'm listening to you. Go ahead, you listen to me. Yes, yes, we are listening to you, Michel. How much are these debts canceled by the family? Debts erased, 180 million. They erased 180 million debts which have disappeared, which are no longer paid, which are never paid.

Behind these debts? Excuse me, Gabriel, I'm taking over the company, it's cleared of its liabilities. But it's true that it's not very elegant, but that's how it is, the text allows. It's not very elegant, you say? No, no, no. Why isn't it very elegant? It's not very elegant to take back your box and drop the liabilities. It's true that it's a company that is quite indebted, and yes, not to say a lot, because I believe from memory, there are 11 million in bank debts, and I believe I know 27 million in supplier debts, which is

not bad all the same, it's not bad. Does that mean that behind us, we have SMEs, small businesses? Yes, there were small suppliers, there were of course small suppliers, there were banks, that's what, if you like, yes, yes, it still caused damage. Well, yes, this bankruptcy has done some damage. some suppliers will never be reimbursed. But it was because of Covid. No one is really responsible for this. That 's what we first said. Then, we came back to Professor Legault. He rather wonders if Covid, in fact, is not a great excuse for certain bosses who

have been in difficulty for a long time. So, the suspicion is that the business manager has made mistakes. which led to the degraded situation of the company, and which allowed this faulty manager, who had already led to the difficulties of his company, to quietly continue his company, his activity, while getting rid of the liabilities. That would be extremely shocking . Is Alinea's bankruptcy really linked to Covid, as Alexis Munier explained? We have obtained a draft of the confidential report on the company. It was ordered by the judicial administrators in charge of the case. 83 color

pages, written by a major Parisian consulting firm. Graphs, tables, but above all damning conclusions on the management of Alinea by the Mullier family. Our conclusions, the structural losses displayed by the company Alinea over a period of 10 years, legitimately raise the question of the viability of the business model. Difficulties dating back 10 years. And worse, the company would have been bankrupt for 2 years if the Mulier family association did not fund the accounts regularly. I don't know if you remember that report. You had it in hand, right, I think? Yes. Yes, it's a little bomb.

Everything is brought to light. They criticize their management in the report. Are these relationships hard then? They are hard, yes, to the extent that things were done badly, where there were very regrettable observations. Look, I kind of agree with what they're saying. It's true that at the management level, they are very creditable. In there, we don't talk about Covid, we don't talk about yellow vests. We are talking about the fact that these are management errors that have taken place over the past ten years. The company had been making structural losses for ten years when it

went to the commercial court. What does that mean, structural losses for ten years? What does that mean? They looked usual. That means that the company... That means that I was, excuse me, I'm a little harsh on them, they were incapable of making a profit, that is. There you go, you see? Accidental loss happens to everyone. You do it again the following year, etc. But then, we realize, it’s starting to last. But what would you say about a company that would use this text, knowing that its difficulties are older? For me, this is clearly a windfall

effect. But once again, when the law does not prohibit doing such a thing, you would almost have to be stupid. To avoid doing this, you have the option of getting rid of your debts. It’s great, I’m going there, I’m signing! Parliamentarians will put an end to this very practical order after 7 months. 5 companies had time to take advantage of this ephemeral provision. Two of them belong to the muliers, Fildar and Alinea. Let's take stock of this operation. At Alinea... The order made it possible to erase, remember, 180 million euros of debt. But the Mullier

family had to put 62 million euros on the table to take over its most profitable stores. So, 180 minus 62... It's a good operation, that's clear. We can tell the difference, it’s easy to do. Well, but they won, well, easy, 120 million in this operation. 118 million, to be exact. And internally, what do people say about this bankruptcy transformed into a good operation? Listen to Barthélémy Guillain, the president of the family association during the AGM in May 2022. The positive outcome of the negotiations with the commercial courts and the banks allows Alinea and Flunch their

dynamic relaunch after reducing their scope. Finally, we accelerated during the big squalls of the last three years. We accelerated by repairing many of our damaged or fragile sails. The family did more than repair a few sails to death. To speed up, the muliers also let go a little from the East. All 17 stores closed. And above all, their laid-off employees, as he says. It’s 1000 employees, 1000 families, it's... We forget to talk about that. For me, these employees are the forgotten ones. Those forgotten by the judgment, those forgotten by the family. We offered an interview

to Alinea and its general director, Alexis Mullier. They did not wish to react. Four years after Eddy, the other employee finds himself in the same situation. In November 2024, it is Auchan’s turn. 2,389 layoffs are announced. As an explanation for economic difficulties. But three weeks later, Decathlon announced it would pay an exceptional dividend of one billion euros to the Mullier family association. Let's talk about this dividend of one billion euros that shareholders will receive. Hello, us! Gilles Martin is central delegate to the CFDT at Auchan. For him, this calendar does not pass. He negotiates with

the management of the company so that the shareholders of the Mullier family can guarantee a future for their dismissed employees. So Gilles Martin, you are a central union representative at Auchan. The group's management announced the elimination of 2,389 positions. Behind this figure, who are the people affected by these layoffs? Well, behind this figure, we have salespeople in stores who sell washing machines and televisions. There are around 700 of them. It's huge and it affects different sectors. There are also stores that will close. It's a first though. We still have three hypermarkets that are going to

close. Did you expect such a huge number of layoffs? It's massive! It's very massive. All people, in fact, are informed, and sometimes awkwardly, with a phone call. We tell them, you're going to lose your job. That 's not clean. Because when you've had it true for 10, 20, 30 years, sometimes, for a supposedly paternalistic company, it's hard to hear. So, the company will have to provide the means to ensure that this social plan lives up to the sacrifice required. All right. But so, are you saying that this spirit of Northern paternalism no longer exists? It

evaporated. Why do you think that has changed ? Why has it changed? I think that, when I look at the number of shareholders, it has doubled since the day I arrived in the company, in 1990. We went from 500 to almost 1,000 shareholders. They have financial expectations, and I think they are probably less attentive to the Auchan company than they were before. November 29... Another company of the Mullier family, namely Decathlon, announced that it was paying 1 billion euros in dividends to the AFM, the Mullier family association, which brings together the family's shareholders. Do you

understand that we can both lay off so many people at Auchan, for economic reasons, and on the other hand pay such dividends? But really, the timing is really bad, but it's a scandal. It's monstrous, as an announcement on a social level. ... Put yourself in the place of a family in Bar-le-Duc who learns that they are losing their job or that they risk losing it and that they will not be reclassified, or that it will be very complicated, and that at the same time, the family announces that they are making a billion dividends. It's absolutely

unhearable. This billion euros which was paid in dividends for Decathlon to the AFM, How would you like it to be used ? This billion, of course, is not a small sum. So, it could obviously ensure that... financial conditions are much more favorable for employees. What does the Mullier family say to you when you make the link between this billion euros in dividends paid to FM and the layoffs at Auchan? It's not the same for them. They are legally separate companies, according to them. Do you mean they tell you that we can't make the parallel, that

it's not possible? No, it's not the same company at all. Auchan is Auchan. Decathlon is Decathlon. Except that it is well managed by the same bosses in the end. So Fabien Lerville, who is the president of Decathlon, who is also a member of the Mullier family, suggests that the unions are maintaining confusion on this subject, and I quote, which is not good for the collective. Basically, you are playing against the collective. Against his collective, perhaps. In any case, my collective is the employees. This is not the Mullier family association. You met them, I imagine. Never

in life. In national negotiations. We are dealing with those responsible. In HR, as they say? To the HR department, that's it. You regret it, I imagine? Obviously, we would like to meet them. Unfortunately, we do not have this listening. So, I repeat the example of the 700, because it is 700 people, 700 employees in the household appliances departments of Auchan who will be made redundant. We agree, they could very well work at Boulangerie. Absolutely. They have the skills. There is no problem with that. Yes. And what do the four leaders of Ochaux tell you when

you tell them that? Well, they are separate companies. For them, they are truly separate businesses. All right. And that, for you, is really the crux of the problem today? Yes, it would be legitimate if these people could be reclassified very easily in other brands of the group, with the maintenance of salary, with the maintenance of seniority. It was a paternalistic enterprise. So, damn, let’s continue. And this is no longer the case at all? No. Thank you. THANKS. The problem is that these stories of reclassification are not new. Some have already tried to obtain some for

other employees in the muli galaxy, but without success. This is the case of the gentleman with the salmon shirt. Do you recognize him? Hello, hello it's Pan. How are you? Damn! Welcome, still so hot? You too ? No, I'm not improving. Benoît Boussmar, the economist, and Stéphane Ducrot, the lawyer, already looked into the subject 15 years ago, at the request of the Pimki and Saint-Matheux unions. Their ambition was simple. If an employee is made redundant, he or she must find a job in another FAMU brand. Before dismissing an employee in a company, we must look

for an employment solution for him. It's called reclassification. When we do this within the scope of the company, reclassification, we must look for it within the company. You will have understood that if we multiply the job search scope at group level, such as the Muglier group, the reclassification space immediately becomes immense. You can see that in shopping centers, we find... practically all the brands of the group. We find kittens, who dresses, etc. And of course, in the fields. So our idea was to ensure that this group was recognized legally, judicially. But wait, what exactly is

a group? A company group is an entity that brings together a group of companies, including a parent company in the same holding company and subsidiary companies. Well, the AFM... This mulier galaxy that we've been talking to you about since the beginning has never been recognized as a group in the legal sense of the term. Dear families, dear friends, your management board is very happy. They may hold general meetings, decide between shareholders on the future of their companies, but no, it is not a group. It's still quite incredible to think that there won't be such crazy

steps. to recognize the obvious. And you have to be a little crazy to try to demonstrate the existence of the Mullier group. Isn't that right, Mr. Boussmar? Come with us to the bottom of his garden. You will understand. So we go towards the little shed. When I have too many documents and I'm tired of having documents from home, I put them in there. Come on, girls, I'll have all the files on the news. Ah, a hundred cards one of all. Over time, the economist accumulated documents on the family. He began by identifying and listing all

the companies involved. Wait, I'll take that away. There are Auchan accounts, there are private companies, all civil companies, everything is related to the family. That’s 25 to 30 years of work there. As I gained information, because each time we did accounts, I found other companies. So I still recovered the accounts of the other companies at the registry point. Benoît Boussmar scoured the registries of France and Belgium in order to establish the links that unite these companies to create. They're not going to be afraid of spider thrones there. No, not here. He pulled up every thread

of the immense Muligny spider's web. The documents in question allowed me to create a complete organization chart of everything owned by the Muligny family from the large companies. Starting from the commercial brands that you all know, Benoît Boussmar counted between 600 and 700 companies to arrive at this result, the AFM organization chart. What you released, Benoît, is a real scoop. And we, when we get a scoop, we submit it to Élise Lucet. Meet near Lille, in front of the building which houses the Mulier family association. But the AFM has no legal reality. It's not even

a 1901 law association. Come on, make yourself comfortable, Élise. And concentrate. Here are all the structures of the AFM in its latest available version, that of 2022. The Mulier family association. Come on! Oh no but wait, but it’s crazy! So, Mulier group governance, I understand that. AFM civil society. So that’s the Mulier family association. SCA, Accant, Simofat and Valoreste. Pifard, Naudi, Fipa, Oldinea, Soparfil, nothing, I don't care. It's normal that you're worried about it, Élise. Benoît Boussmar and Stéphane Ducrot are even convinced that it was done on purpose. When we went to look at how

this group was set up, we realized that everything had been done so that there was no obvious recognition of the group on a legal and technical level. For you, there is a will. Oh yes. The assembly was done so that we did not have a head company. identified which hold the companies a little below. To see things clearly, we are going to put a little order into Benoît Boussman's organization chart. To manage its brands, the family first relies on several intermediate layers of companies. But above all, at the top of the pyramid, the economist has

identified four French holding companies which allow them to control the entire galaxy. We discover these holding companies, and when we do the calculation holding by holding company, we see that all four holding companies own 100% of the structures below. Why is it an important discovery, the discovery that Benoît made at the time in legal terms for you? Because we have the very definition of the legal group. The subtlety is that in the legal definition, the parent company must own 100. And there, we had... four companies which together owned 100. According to them, the four holding

companies could therefore well have been one. Benoît Boussmar and Stéphane Ducrot support this conviction by comparing the statuses of the holding companies. Looking at these holdings, we see that they are practically copied and stolen. And when we look at the management board, in all these companies, we find the same people. Who is the signatory of the statutes each time ? Right now, it’s Barthélémy Guillain. Does that mean that each time, you have the same signature, so you have the same people at the head too? Yes, Barthélémy Guillain. Barthélémy Guillain. Barthélémy Guillain. Barthélémy Guillain. Barthélémy Guillain.

You know, the president of the AFM, whom you have already seen a few times. Nothing is better than our proximity when it comes to family cohesion. Nothing is better than your physical presence. That's what I did. have the same purpose, they are all domiciled at the same address, they have identical statutes, and the statutes that you present to me from 2024 are all signed by the same president of the management board, Mr. Barthélé-Miguil. In reality, if you take these four statutes and you paste them, since they are strictly identical, you have a single holding company

which owns the Unier group. So, the complexity... hides and obscures the real relationships that exist within the group. So when someone wants to prove something, they have to deal with all these entities mixing together, etc., to arrive at a solution which is actually a simple solution, and which only has one group. Will this Muler group ever exist? When asked, the family association replied “Why not, it’s a subject under study”. But the dismissed Auchan employees should not rejoice too quickly. In the same letter, the emulator asserts that he is still committed to defending the idea that

we are not a group. Go figure.