 In addition, the court ordered a stay of proceedings pending the decision in the criminal cases against Beau and Jegat which had prevented them from giving evidence in the libel case.On 17 September 1992, the court noted that Plenel's story in "Le Monde" had been "one of the most serious allegations possible against a public official", and that it had certainly impacted if not destroyed Barril's professional and personal reputation, however it dismissed his assertion that his lack of a conviction over the matter meant that the allegations were without basis.Reviewing the documents provided by "Le Monde", and hearing evidence from Beau and Jegat, the court found that the allegations were proven true and dismissed the criminal and civil case against the newspaper.