Nearly two years ago, the Marseille-based news website Marsactu published an investigation into the professional practices of orthopaedic surgeon and knee specialist Michel Assor, reporting that numerous legal proceedings and patient complaints had been brought against him.
The outlet later continued its coverage after Assor was formally charged in February 2025 and barred from practising traumatology and orthopaedics. He faces accusations of intentional violence, unlawful practice of medicine and fraud.
The surgeon responded with a defamation lawsuit seeking €600,000 in damages – an action that placed significant financial pressure on Marsactu and the French online newspaper Mediapart, which had republished the investigations.
Media Defence provided financial support to help cover the outlet’s legal costs.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the dismissal of Assor’s lawsuit. Although he may still appeal to the Court of Cassation, the decision remains an encouraging ruling for independent journalism in France.
For Media Defence this outcome underscores what coordinated support can achieve in the face of legal intimidation. Below is a translation of an article by Marsactu’s President and journalist, Julien Vinzent.
Court of Appeal Confirms Dismissal of Michel Assor’s Defamation Lawsuit
One year and eight months later, the pressure has eased. In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal dismissed surgeon Michel Assor’s defamation lawsuit against our initial revelations about his professional practices, published in 2024. Michel Assor was demanding €500,000 “for economic and financial damages” and €100,000 “for moral damages.” This financial risk weighed on Marsactu, Mediapart, which had republished our articles, and their respective editors-in-chief.
The Court of Appeal ruling confirms the annulment of the proceedings handed down at first instance in March 2025, on procedural grounds.
When we first learned of Assor’s intention to appeal the positive lower court ruling, we knew we would once again have to invest time and money to defend our public interest reporting.
Two organisations came to Marsactu’s aid in the weeks that followed. The NGO Media Defence and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom covered all of our legal costs. At this stage, Michel Assor’s order to pay €8,500 to Marsactu and Mediapart should allow these organisations to be partially reimbursed.
As we committed to do, this contentious context did not prevent us from continuing our investigations. In September 2025, freelance journalist Eva Thiébaud and journalist and co-founder of Marsactu, Jean-Marie Leforestier, reported on how Michel Assor repeatedly sought to discredit the authorities and the patients who say they are his victims. On 13 January 2026, they revealed the extension of the judicial investigation and the call for any potential victims to come forward. Finally, on 28 January, Eva Thiébaud reported on the practice bans imposed by the professional disciplinary court.
These articles—like our entire publication—would not exist without the community that funds them. It is your support that allows us to keep writing despite the pressure.
Read the original article here.
