A Paris court issued a historic decision, overturning the earlier defamation charges against Sandra Muller on March 31. The court ruled that Sandra Muller should not be punished, having acted in good faith. The French journalist, and pioneer of the #MeToo movement in France, was ordered to pay damages in the defamation case filed against her by her harasser. On September 25, 2019, a French court ordered Sandra to pay 15,000 euros to Éric Brion— a media consultant and former TV executive. Despite Éric having admitted his lewd remarks to Sandra, the court said in its initial verdict that “Miss Sandra Muller surpassed the acceptable limits of freedom of expression and her comments descended into a personal attack”. CFWIJ welcomes the decision to acquit Sandra and believes the judgment will support women who want to speak out about their experience with harassment and misconduct.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is astonished at the decision of a French court to fine Sandra Muller for defamation. The journalist and founder of the #MeToo movement in France, has been ordered by court to pay thousands of euros as damages for ‘defaming’ the man she accused of harassment.