Alcatel Alsthom, heir to Compagnie Générale d’Électricité (CGE), which was founded in 1898, no longer exists.  This French industrial group grew and became a global leader in telecommunications, cables, and electromechanical engineering.  

I participated in Alcatel Alsthrom’s growth for 22 years.  From 1986 to 1995, the period during which the group undertook a radical transformation and went global, I was Chairman and CEO of the group.  This exhilarating adventure came to a brutal end on March 10, 1995.   An investigating judge, Jean-Marie d'Huy, made a decision, based on reasons that were found to be false 12 years later, and overnight, I was forbidden to work for the group.

I told the story of Alcatel Alsthom’s takeoff in a book that came out in 2002, "Alcatel Alsthom: shot down in midflight", (L’envol saboté d’Alcatel Alsthom, Editions France-Empire), and I described how the group was put to death in another book that came out in 2009, "With Complete Impunity: The scandalous destruction of Alcatel Alsthom" (Société des Ecrivains).  This execution of a group that was to France what General Electric is to the USA, or what Siemens is to Germany, by the unjust decision of one man and for reasons subsequently found false, seemed incomprehensible to anyone who was close to Alcatel Alsthom.

The goal of this blog is to let them know everything about this drama so that they can make their own judgment about this judicial disaster, which in no way honors French institutions.

Why did Jean-Marie d’Huy allow this extravagant procedure, founded on a basis that from the beginning appeared so weak, to go on and on and which, 12 years later, would be judged to be without foundation? Why was he so tenacious in trying to ruin my professional life, as well as the lives of executives at Alcatel CIT, and indirectly destroy Alcatel Alsthom?
These  questions remain unanswered.

In this disaster, my successor, Serge Tchuruk, responsability cannot be eluded. During the twelve years of his presidence, the company lost 24 billions €, an average loss of 2 billions € every year, or a daily loss of 5 millions €. It shows, at least, that when he arrived, and contrary to his public statements of 1995, the company was in a very good shape and its balance sheet strong enough to support these huge continuous losses.
Yes it’s indeed, with complete impunity, that this drama originated and went off.