Witness Tampering: Threats Received from French Elected Official Cédric Villani

Witness Tampering by Cédric Villani via his campaign’s director of communication Philippe Mouricou

To describe Cédric Villani’s former position at the French Assemblée Nationale in terms Americans might easily understand, you could explain that he served in a role similar to that of a U.S. Congressman. Specifically, Villani was a Member of Parliament (MP) in France, representing a legislative district and participating in the creation and passage of national laws.

In France, the Assemblée Nationale is the lower house of the French Parliament, akin to the U.S. House of Representatives. Members of the Assemblée Nationale, like Villani, are directly elected to represent geographical constituencies and have responsibilities including debating bills, voting on national legislation, and overseeing the government.

This comparison helps contextualize his role within the French governmental system in terms familiar to an American audience, highlighting similarities between democratic institutions in both countries.

September 25, 2019, at 19:35 (7:35 pm) (GMT+0800 China Standard Time):
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Dear Sir, I am the Director of Communications for Mr. Villani’s campaign. May we get in touch? Sincerely, Philippe Mouricou.” (translated from French; you can visualize the original text in French in this screenshot.

September 25, 2019, at 22:20 (10:20 pm) (GMT+0800 China Standard Time): Vincent B. Le Corre (Back then, I wanted to remain anonymous): “Dear Mr. Mouricou, Please accept my apologies for not having responded sooner. I was out, and upon my return, my Twitter account was suspended. I have just made the necessary change to the account name. It was Villani2022, it is now Villani2022Fan because contrary to what you might think, I truly and sincerely support Cédric Villani.” (translated from French; you can visualize the original text in French in this screenshot.

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Hello :) no, there’s absolutely no reprimand at all.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “But then, to be completely honest, regardless of the merits of your approach towards McDonald’s, it’s true that your actions are quite bothersome to us.”

[…]

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, explain to me why you say, and I quote, ‘it’s true that your actions are quite bothersome to us.’?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Please think it well.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Associating Cedric Villani’s name his image with the word ‘crook’…”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Ok, sorry, I see… please give me 30 seconds, I’ll change that right away.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Registering the domain name cedricvillani.fr”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “That’s bothersome too.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I just removed it, BUT BEWARE, I may not have been clear enough, it’s not Villani who is the crook, of course. Did you not notice the shape of the letter E that is the McDonald’s logo?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Because Mr. Villani has no connection with McDonald’s or with this case.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And through your website and your Twitter account, you are trying to make a connection between the two.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “For future reference, here is the image we were talking about earlier; for me, it’s obviously McDonald’s which is the crook.”
Note for the reader: In French, I used the term “McDo Escroc.” In France, McDonald’s is commonly referred to as “McDo,” and the word for “crook” in French is “escroc.” The phrase “McDo Escroc” not only captures this play on words effectively but also rhymes, adding a catchy ring to it.
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I understand your point of view a little. But now, Mr. Villani is a deputy of the Member of the Parliament. This is an exceptionally serious matter. The case is very real.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Let me ask you a question: if Mr. Villani can confirm certain statements that are fundamentally mathematical problems, why would he refuse to do so? Moreover, it’s in his best interest to do so, think about it.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “So, let me explain,”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “There is a constitutional principle called the separation of powers.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And a legal conflict between an individual and a company falls under the judicial power.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And the activity of the deputy who makes the law, that’s the legislative power.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And between the two there is a separation.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “However, the deputy can propose laws, amendments.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “But this principle of separation of powers leads the deputy to exercise great caution in legal matters.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “It is for this reason that Mr. Villani refuses to speak out when asked for his opinion on one matter or another.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I understand your point of view even though I don’t completely agree, please allow to answer.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: But before I answer, I need to ask a question to the [French anticorruption non-governmental organization] Anticor, of which I am a member, not a very active one, but a member nonetheless. The question relates to Article 40 of the [French] code of criminal procedure, which states, I quote:”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Article 40: The public prosecutor receives complaints and accusations and assesses what action to take in accordance with the provisions of Article 40-1. Every constituted authority, every public officer or civil servant who, in the performance of their duties, becomes aware of a crime or misdemeanor, must immediately inform the public prosecutor and provide this magistrate with all related information, reports, and documents.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And no matter what, the registration of a domain name does tend to harm Mr. Villani’s reputation in a matter over which he has no control.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Does this article [note: Article 40 of the French code of criminal procedure] apply to a Member of the [note: French] Parliament? I’m not sure. But it would be interesting to find out.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “He can certainly pass on the information [note: related to that case to the public prosecutor] just as you can.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “It’s just that a public comment could be interpreted as an attempt to exert pressure on the judiciary.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: Now, it’s true that there are ministers who take a stand on judicial matters, but they would be better off not doing so.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And Cédric Villani will maintain this stance.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Regarding your request.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “(For your information)”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Sir, wait… do you know whether or not Article 40 of the code of criminal procedure applies to a Member of the Parliament? To be honest, I know for certain that this article applies to civil servants, but whether it applies to Mr. Villani, I’m not sure.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I have no idea.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Let’s get back to your request.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Alright, I will write to Anticor to ask the question. [Note: in France, Anticor is a well-known anticorruption non-profit, non-governmental, organization.]”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “The email you sent to the parliamentary assistant of [Cédric Villani] never arrived.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “In fact, she left.”

Note for the reader: whether Cédric Villani, through Philippe Mouricou who was then his director of communication for his campaign, was lying or not, I am not sure. But Mr. Mouricou would later say that Mr. Villani hasn’t been informed of what’s going on. Then, how could Philippe Mouricou knew that the staff people of Cédric Villani had never received my email? The fact is that I had received a positive answer from Cédric Villani’s Parliamentary Office not only acknowledging receipt of my email, but also confirming that they would help if they could, and since Cédric Villani could have helped, I was certain that he would help. The email can be visualized at https://www.cedricvillani.com/open-letters/response-from-cedric-villani-regarding-mcdonalds-fraud-case-2019-07-30/

Please note that CedricVillani.com is a non-official website on Cédric Villani that I created for the purpose of transparency in this unprecedented white-collar/financial criminal case targeting McDonald’s Corporation and its accomplices. Let’s continue.

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I want to talk about what you said regarding the separation of powers; it’s very important because there is precisely a problem with the separation of powers in this matter. Let me explain.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “So I imagine you contacted her [note: Cédric Villani’s Parliamentary Assistant] in September, and as a result, we did not receive your email.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I can give you the contact details of her new assistant if you wish.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “(Fundamentally, it’s more a matter for the National Assembly [note: the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament] than the campaign, and there is a strict separation between the two teams)”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Regarding the parliamentary assistant, thank you for informing me, but I assume the emails are forwarded. Also, which email are you talking about? I’m not sure I understand.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “On your website cedricvillani.fr”

Note for the reader: the archive version of what this website looked like back then can be seen at https://archive20210730.cedricvillani.fr

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Okay, I think I understand a bit, you are referring to this sentence: ‘I have already sent some documents and additional explanations to Mr. Villani hoping that his advisors will realize the importance of this case.’ which is currently on the site cedricvillani.fr”

Note for the reader: the original sentence in French was “J’ai d’ores et déjà envoyé quelques documents et explications supplémentaires à Monsieur Villani en espérant que ses conseillers réaliseront l’importance de cette affaire.” and it can be visualized in the archived version of the website at https://archive20210730.cedricvillani.fr

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou. I am very stressed about this case.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I’m not lying when I tell you that sometimes, I’m afraid of getting arrested because I currently live in China. Did you know that?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “First of all, let me explain something quickly regarding the separation of powers. There is a law professor who has helped me a lot, and I am infinitely grateful to him. His name is Yves Strickler.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “But on your website, you explain that you have informed Mr. Villani.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And the email never arrived for the reason I mentioned to you.”

Note for the reader: as I explained previously, whether Cédric Villani, through Philippe Mouricou, was lying or not, I am not sure. The fact is that I had received a positive answer from Cédric Villani’s Parliamentary Office not only acknowledging receipt of my email, but also confirming that they would help if they could, and since Cédric Villani could have helped, I was certain that he would help. The email can be visualized at https://www.cedricvillani.com/open-letters/response-from-cedric-villani-regarding-mcdonalds-fraud-case-2019-07-30/

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Okay, wait a moment, let me check.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Valentine.roux@clb-an.fr”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Here is the address of his new parliamentary assistant.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “But I must say that sometimes I am really scared because I know that this fraud case is real and serious and that it can only have significant repercussions.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I will cc Mr. Villani’s official email address at the National Assembly.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “In any case, on the campaign side, we would greatly appreciate not seeing Mr. Villani’s name associated with what you describe as a fraud.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Since you often interrupt me, I have a bit of trouble getting my sentences in.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And we are very troubled by the existence of your site.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, I implore Mr. Villani to help bring the truth to light in this matter.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I will write him an open letter to plead with him to abandon obscurantism. Because the fraud case involving the McDonald’s group is exceptionally serious.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I’ll let you discuss the details with his parliamentary assistant.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “But we would greatly appreciate it if your site could redirect either to Mr. Villani’s parliamentary page or to his campaign site.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And I must admit that it would greatly help with making contact :)”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, does it not bother you that millions of consumers have been defrauded? That small restaurant owners are struggling financially against McDonald’s, which according to the book by Jean-Pierre Petit, the former CEO of McDonald’s France, serves 750 million customers a year. Do you realize what’s happening?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Regardless of the merits of the case for which I have a lot of sympathy, the existence of your site that links Mr. Villani to a fraud is problematic.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, this is not just an issue concerning the Parliament. It is a matter of financial crime, a problem so serious that it cannot be ignored”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “You are absolutely free to pursue your fight, but I think the method you are using is problematic.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And creating a website that associates Mr. Villani with a fraud is not appropriate.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “You keep repeating yourself, you do not let me get a word in. I am very disappointed by your attitude. I am 99.99% sure, almost certain, with little room for doubt, that if you allow me to explain my entire story to Mr. Villani, Mr. Villani, both the candidate AND the Member of the Parliament, will have the courage to intervene.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “An exchange with Mr. Villani’s team is entirely possible, but removing your site that links his image to that of a fraud seems to be a prerequisite.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, Mr. Villani is close to power, I am not naive. He must have mentioned this matter to some people within certain ministries. I am not foolish. Therefore, I am very concerned by your attitude.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Well… I’m sorry that my attitude has been a source of disappointment for you. I think we are reaching the limits of instant messaging here…”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “When there is a malfunction in the judicial system, Article 141-1 of the Judicial Organization Code is invoked”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And what does this have to do with the website?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “You mentioned the separation of powers, but what does that have to do with the website? The separation of powers… so… let me explain…”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “No, I’m talking about this site.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Which is extremely problematic.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “What’s problematic is your habit of constantly interrupting me. So if you don’t let me express myself, I will publicly address Mr. Villani through open letters.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Do you know my name? Do you know that I sent Mr. Villani a scan of my ID, my passport, my foreign permanent resident card in China? Do you know what my name is?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I have no idea.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Because Mr. Villani’s team at the Assemblée Nationale [note: the French Parliament] could not find your details for the reason I mentioned.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “That’s why I invited you to contact Ms. Roux.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And I believe your discussion with her will be far more effective in dealing with the substance of the issue than our direct messages on Twitter.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “As I told you, I am in charge of the candidate’s communication.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “You are in charge of the communication for Mr. Villani’s campaign; so, who handles all legal matters?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “His assistant.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “So, my issue is with the website you manage.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “My question is: will you take down your website?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, I have a question for you, and I ask you to respond honestly, without lying. Have you, or someone else within Mr. Villani’s campaign team, or anyone else, requested Google to remove the site from its search results and/or have you reported the site to Google?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Google France, United States, let’s not play with words.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Not at this stage.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “We became aware of this problem yesterday.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Yet, it seems someone did.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And so we contacted you when we learned of your Twitter account.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I think you were aware of this problem before because I had reported certain things to other people, not just Ms. Claire-Anaïs Rigagneau.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I’ll be right back…”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Ms. Rigagneau who worked with Mr. Villani at the Assemblée Nationale, and not in the campaign,”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And she, Ms. Roux, whose contact details I gave you, is precisely the person who replaces Ms. Rigagneau.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And I assure you that until the day before yesterday I was not aware of your website.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Maybe someone else was aware of the website. Nevertheless, you are a specialist in communication and not in legal matters. Ms. Roux works at the National Assembly [note: the French Parliament], right? I want the contact details of someone who works within Mr. Villani’s campaign. In fact, better, I will try my best to explain everything as quickly as possible. I want Mr. Villani to personally read the points I will raise. For example, we were talking about the separation of powers? Perfect, do you know that when I had asked for provisional admission to legal aid to summon France’s judicial agent to court under Article 141-1 of the COJ [note: COJ = Code de l’Organisation Judiciaire], do you know what the legal aid office told me? They told me that they had, at the legal aid office of the Paris Court, their own rules. This means, concretely, their own laws.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “It’s possible that someone else knew about the website. Still, your expertise lies in communication, not legal matters. Ms. Roux works at the National Assembly [note: the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament], correct? I need contact details for someone actively involved in Mr. Villani’s campaign. Actually, I’ll do my best to clarify everything swiftly because I want Mr. Villani to personally consider the points I’m about to raise. Speaking of which, we were discussing the separation of powers, weren’t we? Interestingly, did you know that when I sought provisional legal aid to bring France’s judicial agent to court under Article 141-1 of the COJ [note: COJ = Code de l’Organisation Judiciaire], the legal aid office at the Paris Court told me they operate under their own set of rules? In essence, they invent their own laws.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “The judicial system creates its own laws.” [note: it’s a true and an exceptionally serious issue plaguing the French judicial system]

Vincent B. Le Corre: “So, Mr. Mouricou, I am very familiar with the principle of the separation of powers, but thank you for mentioning it. Can you give me your email address?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Listen, in Mr. Villani’s campaign we do not have a contact for these issues but Ms. Roux being Mr. Villani’s assistant, she will be more able than me to help you substantively.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “And do you have the name of someone in Mr. Villani’s campaign team who handles legal matters?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “[REDACTED]@gmail.com”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “In the campaign, we do not have anyone working on the congressman’s activities.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And the issue you raise clearly falls within this framework.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “You say ‘In the campaign, we do not have anyone working on the congressman’s activities’ => I want to say that this serious problem of financial crime concerns both the congressman Mr. Villani and the candidate Mr. Villani.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “My concern is the website you manage that links Mr. Villani’s image to what you call a fraud.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:33 (11:33pm) (China Standard Time):

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “You can say whatever you like, but here’s the reality: during a municipal campaign, we don’t have experts on multinational financial crime.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “But you are mistaken, I earnestly implore Mr. Villani to help uncover the truth in this extremely serious matter.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:34 (11:34pm) (China Standard Time):

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And I sincerely and kindly ask you to take down your website.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And only then you can count on me to facilitate all interactions with the team of Congressman Villani.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “And it’s also a campaign issue in the sense that McDonald’s hurts competition due to their criminal practices.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “‘And you can count on me to facilitate all interactions with Deputy Villani’s team’—are you not part of the team?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “You’ll agree this isn’t directly tied to Parisian municipal issues.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I am part of the team for Villani’s municipal campaign.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “The two teams are separate.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Ms. Roux is on the campaign team.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “In the Parliament, I mean.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And I am on the campaign team.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:36 (11:36pm) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “The congressman’s team? Why do you keep saying the congressman’s team? It also concerns the candidate for Mayor of Paris. You’re stressing me out… I suspect you’re doing it on purpose… I’m sorry, Mr. Mouricou, but I’m starting to lose trust in you.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I just want to say one thing.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “The teams coordinate (like syncing schedules, for example) but work on different issues.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “I’m not doing this intentionally.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “On one side, there’s the team in the Parliament.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And on the other, the municipal campaign team.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “So my question is: when will you take down your website?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I live in China. The issues I’ve encountered involve a very powerful corporation. I am genuinely worried about getting arrested. I’m not afraid of China’s top leaders, but of others, and I can’t provide all the details right now.” [note: I felt, back then, concerned about the corruption at local level in Shanxi province.]

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Can we please get back to the issue at hand, your website that misuses Cédric Villani’s name?”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:42 (11:42pm) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Excuse me, I was just verifying that you are indeed who you claim to be.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Wait, I need to do more verifications.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:43 (11:43pm) (China Standard Time):
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “With pleasure.”
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “You have an article from L’Opinion that quotes me.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:45 (11:45pm) (China Standard Time):
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And it covers Mr. Villani’s campaign team.”

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:52 (11:52pm) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “So, you’re the one sent to pressure a whistleblower, huh?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Has Mr. Villani been informed that you’re pushing me to shut down my site? Is he aware of this kind of strong-arming?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “My support for Mr. Villani is genuine.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: [REDACTED]

Date and time: 2019-09-25 at 23:55 (11:55pm) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: [REDACTED]
Vincent B. Le Corre: “His name is [REDACTED]”

[…]

IMPORTANT NOTE: At this point, I mentioned to Cédric Villani, via Philippe Mouricou, the name of someone he personally knew and whom I had spoken to many years ago. The likely reason Cédric Villani, through his communications director Philippe Mouricou, went silent for over three hours is because of the name I had just provided. I am not entirely certain, but I am at least 85% sure.

Given that I was threatened, if the French authorities were to discover, for instance, a phone call between Cédric Villani and that person at that specific time, it would strongly suggest that Villani was indeed present with Philippe Mouricou, contrary to Mouricou’s claim that Villani was unaware of our conversation.

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:01 (12:01am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: [REDACTED]
Vincent B. Le Corre: “http:// [REDACTED] .org/[REDACTED]”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Look for the name [REDACTED]”
Vincent B. Le Corre: [REDACTED]

Most likely, Cédric Villani was immediately stunned when I mentioned that name, especially since I provided confirmation that he could verify right away.

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:03 (12:03am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: [REDACTED]
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, please save this conversation between us:”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:05 (12:05am) (China Standard Time):

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Villani, I am addressing you directly. I don’t know if you are sitting next to Mr. Mouricou or not, but if you are not, I hope he shows you what I’ve said. You need to stop using intermediaries to shield yourself, the candidate, under the guise of plausible deniability.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:08 (12:08am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Villani, from the bottom of my heart, I beg you, please help me. This is indeed an important matter for me, but it’s also much more than that. It’s a serious case of financial crime.”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I can’t sum it all up in just a few words. I’m under incredible pressure, and I’m sure you are too if you have read this page:”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “https://archive20210730.francoismolins.fr/fr.html”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “You must understand right away. I know you do.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:10 (12:10am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “And now I’m even more afraid because if you, Cédric Villani, Fields Medalist, are scared to confirm something so simple, then we must consider the possibility that the government is pressuring you.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:12 (12:12am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “My name is [REDACTED]” (note: back then, I wanted to remain anonymous, but I did send the scans of my IDs to his office at the French Parliament but they (falsely?? (not sure)) pretended that they didn’t receive my emails)

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:14 (12:14am) (China Standard Time):

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:19 (12:19am) (China Standard Time):

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:35 (12:35am) (China Standard Time):

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:42 (12:42am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Villani, I beg you, please don’t do anything that could harm me or my family. I’m French, I’ll be treated well. But I don’t want them to pressure my in-laws. My wife was diagnosed with a severe cancer at the age of 37 in 2013. I’m still hesitant to talk about her health publicly because it’s a private matter, and there are certain delicate points that could upset Beijing if I mentioned them publicly.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:43 (12:43am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I was fired at the end of 2010 for striking. To this day, the case still hasn’t been judged. Do you understand? I’m in my 9th year since being fired. How is this possible?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I am under a lot of pressure. An enormous amount of pressure. Sometimes, it feels like my skull is going to crack.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:47 (12:47am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “[REDACTED]”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Why? Because the pressure is too great. This is truly an extremely serious fraud case, and you must understand that it’s true.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:50 (12:50am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Villani, I don’t know if you’re there next to Mr. Mouricou, or maybe you’re giving interviews to journalists or doing something else, but if you’re there, Mr. Villani, Mr. Congressman, Mr. Candidate for Mayor of Paris, I’m moved, I have tears in my eyes 🥺”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:51 (12:51am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I want to say, without meaning any disrespect, I want to say… to disarm you… Cédric”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I beg you… help me…”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 00:55 (12:55am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “This isn’t even about money; the crimes are far too serious to be ignored. McDonald’s is committing serious financial crimes. I’m not asking for your legal opinion; I’m simply asking you questions related to mathematics.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 01:05 (01:05am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “No one will ask for your legal opinion. Obviously, if you confirm that McDonald’s claim that consumers had a 1 in 4 chance of winning, implied per game stamp (the only possible way), was false, what will happen?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Will the Paris prosecutor’s office say you’re wrong?”
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Do you think so?” (note: Remember, Cédric Villani is a Fields Medal laureate, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in mathematics.)
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Millions of people were defrauded.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 01:06 (01:06am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “McDonald’s is causing tremendous harm to humanity. I have no issue with a company maximizing its profits, that’s the essence of the free market and the rule of law, but only as long as they don’t break the law.”

[…]

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 01:43 (01:43am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “In the McDonald’s fraud case, there was a civil trial. Can you believe that I didn’t even have the chance to see the documents produced by McDonald’s group for their defense? What about the principle of adversarial proceedings? It’s shocking, isn’t it? Especially since I believe I can prove two instances of forgery. How can I prove it if I couldn’t see the documents? By logical deduction based on what they said in their response conclusions. For example, there is mention of a fax they supposedly sent, yet I don’t recall receiving any fax from them, and I believe it is a forgery. I explicitly asked to see this document, but I couldn’t. I will provide more details later.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 01:46 (01:46am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “I was also barred from responding to their initial conclusions. Essentially, the justice system silenced me—not directly, but indirectly. The point is, if the allegations against McDonald’s aren’t considered criminal offenses, as the financial division of the Paris prosecutor’s office incorrectly claims, and if there’s no civil liability either, then we’ve effectively legalized fraud. The entire system is on the brink of collapse.”

[…]

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 02:07 (02:07am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “The New York Times took some interest in this matter concerning McDonald’s. The Wall Street Journal as well. But as for the WSJ, they didn’t investigate, or at least, not to my knowledge. For the NYTimes, it went from Stéphanie Strom to Tim Race, who was then the business editor for NYTimes Europe, and then he asked another journalist who spoke better French, if I remember correctly, to look into it. This was in 2015, shortly before the attacks.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 02:09 (02:09am) (China Standard Time):
Vincent B. Le Corre: “Emmanuelle Paquette from L’Express, formerly of Les Echos, was going to publish an article on this matter, but it seems that he was prevented to do so by his editor-in-chief.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 03:02 (03:02am) (China Standard Time):
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Dear Vincent, I am only responding to your messages late because I was in a meeting with Cédric. We did not discuss your situation. As I explained to you, your site is causing a lot of harm to our campaign and to Mr. Villani’s political actions. How can we resolve this situation? From my side, taking your site offline is an indispensable prerequisite for any contact between you and the candidate.”

[…]

Vincent B. Le Corre: “McDonald’s can easily pressure politicians. Think about it, there’s so much money at stake.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Ask Mr. Villani if he’s corrupt or if he’s still honest.”

Date and time: 2019-09-26 at 03:13 (03:13am) (China Standard Time):
Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “The one putting pressure on a politician at this stage is you. You’re using the same tactics as McDonald’s.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “And your questioning of Mr. Villani’s integrity is intolerable.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “This is clear proof that you are not sincere!”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “You said ‘You’re using the same tactics as McDonald’s’—could you specify what tactics McDonald’s uses?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “‘And your questioning of Mr. Villani’s integrity is intolerable.’—not at all, I only repeat that I trust his integrity!”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “When I say, ‘Ask Mr. Villani if he’s corrupt or still honest,’ I mean it rhetorically, of course, he is honest, which is why this is so hard and unbearable.”

Mouricou: “…”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “This is surely one of the simplest mathematical problems he has ever had to solve in his life, yet it is also one of the most difficult.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “‘This is clear proof that you are not sincere!’—what do you mean? Because you need proof? Why? Because you thought I wasn’t sincere? Why do you think that?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I’m going to ask you a question…”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Should consumers only play a game if they are sure to lose? Is that your view of life?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Do multinationals always have the right to win, while consumers are doomed to lose?”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “If Mr. Villani has any questions, he should ask me.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “It’s 3:22 AM in China. I am a bit tired, but I am ready to answer any questions Mr. Villani might have. You can ask me almost anything.”

[…]

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “The only question is how do we find a solution for this website that incredibly damages the image of Mr. Villani, whom you claim to support.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “It’s late where you are, let’s try to find a solution quickly.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “‘The only question is how do we find a solution for this website that incredibly damages the image of Mr. Villani, whom you claim to support.’—I wrote to Mr. Villani telling him my support is unconditional. That even if he refuses to comment on very simple mathematical problems, I will support him. But I also warned Mr. Villani there was one exception: that he not be corrupt. The fact that he does not want to comment does not mean he is corrupt, not at all. I understand he might be afraid. I am afraid sometimes. So, I imagine he is too.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “That said, I think it’s wrong of you to pressure me.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Well, we have discussed a lot. I see that you are not sincere or benevolent towards Mr. Villani.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Wait, there’s something I want to say.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “NO”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “It’s over”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Contact is broken”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Goodbye”

[…]

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “.fr domain names are subject to French law”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “This is identity theft”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “We will take all necessary actions”

[…]

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Good evening”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Good luck”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Contact is broken”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “‘We will take all necessary actions’ I beg you, please, do not take legal action against me. But if you do, I will defend myself as best I can.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “Mr. Mouricou, I have the courage to denounce a massive fraud. And as for you, you threaten me with legal action.”

Vincent B. Le Corre: “I’m under a lot of pressure. No need to add more.”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Are your sites still online?”

Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Dear Sir, we have received your email. It’s unfortunate that you interpret our request to remove your site as an attempt to pressure you. Your actions greatly harm the candidate I represent. Please proceed with removing your site.”

Note: I would write to the French anticorruption NGO Anticor to ask them if an elected official is under legal obligation to repart crimes he is made aware of. The answer was yes. I forward their reply to Cédric Villani.

October 4, 2019, at 11:45 PM (+0800 China Standard Time): Cédric Villani via Philippe Mouricou: “Hello, we are starting to get quite a few inquiries from journalists who wish to know our point of view on this matter and are asking about your identity.”

To gain a clearer understanding of the sequence of events in this case, I invite you to view a detailed timeline at the following link:
https://www.ECTHRwatch.org/timeline/mcdonalds/
This timeline provides a comprehensive overview of the key milestones and developments.