Dominique de La Martinière

"On the legal front, the parties involved in the case discovered that contrary to what everyone thought, the brothers, who were believed to be completely overwhelmed by the treatments they had been subjected to, were not out of the game. Yet, nothing can be concluded without their agreement to sell their 42% stake in SFFAW. Their shares have double voting rights. Furthermore, control of the group is also reinforced by the titles held by Le Peigné de Malines and by la Belle Jardinière. As of June 1982, to lift this mortgage, Master Chassagnon negotiated a first agreement with the Willot brothers. According to this agreement, the industrial development institute would buy their participation for 64 million francs. It is also provided that the buyer would bear "the possible amount of all commercial or civil sentences, regardless of the jurisdiction that would pronounce them, that could be issued against Messrs. Willot, following liability trials of any kind in which they would be involved and definitively condemned, particularly on the occasion of transferring capital from profitable companies to deficit companies." Furthermore, it is stipulated that the buyers take care of tax adjustments, late payment interests, and penalties imposed on the brothers. In return, they completely disappear from circulation. What more could the people ask for... Unfortunately, Dominique de La Martinière wraps himself in his dignity as a senior official and former director general of taxes, and particularly considers that taking on possible convictions is an unacceptable financial and moral risk for his institution. Seeing that time is on their side, the brothers, far from backing down, raise their heads."

"As Alain Boublil explains in his book The Uprising of the Seraglio: "This disagreement stemmed from a misunderstanding. Dominique de La Martinière thought he would have authority over René Mayer, as a majority shareholder does over his CEO. But that was not the contract made between the State and René Mayer. " Dominique de La Martinière intends to keep control and demands to have the majority on the Company's board of directors. But René Mayer intends to govern with confidante personalities... A tug of war begins. The head of IDI, the majority shareholder, throws his hat into the ring and wins the bet. Of the twelve board directors, eight will be appointed from within the IDI circle including Jean-Pierre Lacour and Jean-Paul Elkann."